Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs
by Jack Ruffer

How much do you really know about what your people want from their jobs or are you working with a set of unfounded assumptions as many employers do? Behavioral scientists have done a lot of research on the subject and many of you will be surprised by the results. Take for example this study:

Employers were asked to put themselves in their worker’s shoes and asked to rank, in order of importance (1=highest, 10 lowest), those things they believed the workers wanted from their jobs. The workers, too, were surveyed and asked what they wanted from their jobs. The results were as follows:

                                                                                           Employers                      Workers

Good working conditions                                                       4                                   9         

Feeling “in” on things                                                            10                                  2

Tactful disciplining                                                                    7                                10

Full appreciation for work done                                              8                                  1

Management loyalty to workers                                              6                                  8

Good wages                                                                               1                                  5

Promotion and growth with company                                     3                                  7

Sympathetic understanding of personal problems             9                                  3

Job security                                                                                  2                                  4          

Interesting work                                                                           5                                  6

As is evident from the results, the employers in this study ranked good wages, job security, and advancement as the things they believed workers want most from their jobs. On the other hand, workers felt that what they wanted most was full appreciation for their work, feeling “in” on things, and sympathetic understanding of personal problems. Did you notice that the things the workers said were most important were rated least important by their employers? What the workers rated highest on their survey were incentives related to “affiliation” and “recognition” while what the employers rated highest were incentives related to satisfying “physiological” and “safety” motives. To understand these incentives, or motivations, it might be helpful if we review Maslow’s work.

Maslow believed there was a hierarchy into which human needs arranged themselves. He categorized these needs as: Physiological, Safety, Social, Esteem and Self-Actualization and asserted that each, in order, had to satisfied before the next in the hierarchy came into play. Think about it this way: If you’re hungry, having self-esteem and the recognition of others means little to you until that need (food in your stomach) is fulfilled. It is only then that the next need in the hierarchy becomes the dominant motivating factor. Now, let’s take a brief look at all of Maslow’s motivating factors as he has identified them.

Physiological: Physiological is defined as those basic human needs necessary to sustain life, i.e. food, clothing, shelter. Until these needs are satisfied, the majority of an individual’s activity will continue to be at this level and other needs provide little or no motivation.

Safety (also referred to as Security): Safety essentially represents the need to be free of the fear of physical danger and deprivation of the physiological needs. In other words, this is the need for self-preservation. In addition to the here and now, there is also the concern for the future. Will I be able to maintain my home and/or job so that I can provide food and shelter for my family tomorrow and the next day? If my safety is at risk, other things will seem unimportant.

Social (also referred to as Affiliation - remember the Hawthorne Studies?): As soon as my physiological and safety needs are well satisfied, my social needs emerge as dominant. As a social being, I feel the need to belong and to be accepted by groups with which I interact. When this need is dominant, I’ll strive for meaningful relationships with others, in the workplace and in my community. Why, you ask? Because I want to know and feel that I belong, that I occupy a meaningful place among my colleagues at work and in society at large.

Esteem (also referred to as Recognition): As soon as I satisfy my need to belong, I want to be more than just another member of the group. Using a contemporary idiom, “I want to be somebody.” Most people have a need for a high evaluation of themselves that is firmly based (though not always) in reality and the respect and recognition of others. Esteem produces feelings of self-confidence, prestige, power and control. People want to feel useful and that they have some impact on their environment. There are times when these needs are met through less than constructive behavior, i.e. a child’s temper tantrum, unnecessary conflict with coworkers, etc. Thus, recognition is not always achieved through mature or adaptive behavior.

Self-Actualization: This is the need to maximize one’s potential. As Maslow expressed it, “What a man (woman) can be, he (she) must be.” It is the desire to become what one is capable of becoming. Depending upon the aspirations of the individual, it is satisfied in many ways, i.e. being the best Association Manager, the best athlete, the best musician, the best General. Self-Actualization can change over time, i.e. as we grow older we may no longer be physically capable of being the best athlete so we may look for another area in which to excel.

There you have it! I know I’ve referred to Maslow many times over the last dozen issues of HOA ManagerNewsline. Now you know what I was talking about. I encourage all of my readers to give Maslow some thought as you analyze your team and select work assignments for them. Once you begin to understand what motivates whom, you’ll have a much better chance of helping everyone be successful at what you’ve assigned him or her.