Employee Motivation Post Covid Part 1: Is Maslow's "Hierarchy of Needs" still valid?
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Introduction
From the bottom of the hierarchy upwards, the needs are: physiological (food and clothing), safety (job security), love and belonging needs (friendship), esteem, and self-actualization.
(Mcleod, 2022)
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While the theory has been a mainstay in trying to understand human behavior and motivation for over 80 years now, some have begun to question its validity in recent years. In this blog post, we will explore the debate around the relevance of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and discuss how HR managers can continue to use it as a tool in better gearing for employee well-being, safety, and security in the post-COVID world.
The Validity of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs in 2023
Given how much the world has changed since 1943 when Abraham Maslow first published his work on behavioral theory it is only normal to have apprehension on how relevant those view points are today.
One recurring critique is that Maslow’s methodology relates to ethnocentric bias, as the research has an exclusive emphasis on Americans. Furthermore, the research is also said to have focused on educated, intelligent males, in the context of a highly individualistic culture. Many of the higher-level needs in the hierarchy focus on the self, through achievement, self-esteem, and personal growth. These personal attributes cannot necessarily be globalised in a modern world nor can they be easily transferred to Eastern cultures, whereby the emphasis can often be related to community, selflessness, and contribution (Horton, 2022)
Another criticism concerns Maslow’s assumption that the lower needs must be satisfied before a person can achieve their potential and self-actualize. Through examining cultures in which large numbers of people live in poverty, it is clear that people are still capable of higher order needs such as love and belongingness. However, this should not occur, as according to Maslow (Mcleod, 2022)
Despite these criticisms, researchers from the University of Illinois, lead by professor emeritus of psychology Ed Diener, found that fulfillment of a diversity of needs, as defined by Maslow, do appear to be universal and important to individual happiness. (Yates, 2011)
The post pandemic world while being far moved from the world Abraham Maslow lived in, has made “belonging” and “self-esteem more relevant and important than ever. While its been stated that maintaining meaningful social connections is directly related to better mental and physical health. The opposite is also true - feeling isolated (i.e., not meeting these “belonging” needs) impacts negatively on our health and well-being (Blair, 2022), therefore HR managers need to ensure that they are sensitive toward their employees well-being.
Ensuring Employee Well-being, Safety, and Security in the Post-COVID World
Here are some strategies that HR managers can use to support employee well-being, safety, and security in the post-COVID world:
Prioritize Personal Health and Safety of employees
Post pandemic employees are looking for organisations that cares about their well-being, for employers who actively show a commitment to helping them thrive in all aspects of life, including their health (Windham-Bradstock, 2023). Therefore it makes for HR managers to recognise the importance of these “safety needs” as identified by Maslow when looking at employee benefits.
Offer Flexible Work Arrangements
Many workplaces are transitioning to decentralised and remote workspaces connected by technologies and offering their employees far more flexibility in terms of where and how they work (Peters et al., 2022) HR managers can offer these options to employees to help them balance their work and personal lives and reduce stress.
Provide Mental Health Support
The pandemic has taken a toll on mental health, not only due to the obvious health implication at the beginning of the -pandemic but also now as it subsides, with many individuals experiencing anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues, these as Maslow alluded to can be part of the “esteem” part of the hierarchy of needs.
HR managers can better align their organisations policies by focusing on aspects such as creating awareness on mental health, offering paid professional support, time off work, working with employees to ensure workloads are managed and offering comprehensive medical plans with cover mental health (Forbes Business Council, 2022)
Recognition & Feedback
HR managers must encourage organisation-wide recognition and feedback, Maslow stressed that the need for “belonging” encompasses both feeling loved and feeling love towards others. So employees who know that their organisation appreciates them, and who are also encouraged to recognise direct reports or colleagues by praising hard work or kind acts would feel far more aligned with the organisation. (Blair, 2022)
Conclusion
Furthermore, as recent research suggests fulfilling this diversity of needs, as defined by Maslow, is universal and important to individual happiness.
References
Blair, J. (2022) Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: is it still relevant today?, The Comms Guru. Available at: https://www.thecommsguru.com/post/maslow-s-hierarchy-of-needs-is-it-still-relevant-today (Accessed: 6 April 2023).
Forbes Expert Panel. (2022) Council Post: Here’s How Managers Can Better Support Their Employees’ Mental Health, Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/07/07/heres-how-managers-can-better-support-their-employees-mental-health/ (Accessed: 6 April 2023).
Horton, M. (2022) A Critique of Maslow Hierarchy of Needs | LinkedIn. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/critique-maslow-hierarchy-needs-mark-horton-mba/?trk=pulse-article_more-articles_related-content-card (Accessed: 6 April 2023).
Igoe, K. J. (2022) The Changing Face of Worker Safety, Health, and Well-Being in a Post-Pandemic Future, Executive and Continuing Professional Education. Available at: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/ecpe/the-changing-face-of-worker-safety-health-and-well-being-in-a-post-pandemic-future/ (Accessed: 6 April 2023).
Mcleod, S (2022), ‘Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs’ , 3 November. Available at: https://simplypsychology.org/maslow.html (Accessed: 6 April 2023).
Peters, S. E., Dennerlein, J. T., Wagner, G. R. and Sorensen, G. (2022) ‘Work and worker health in the post-pandemic world: a public health perspective’, The Lancet. Public Health, 7(2), pp. e188–e194. doi: 10.1016/S2468-2667(21)00259-0.
Windham-Bradstock, C. (2023) Council Post: Companies Should Support Employees In Prioritizing Their Health, Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeshumanresourcescouncil/2023/03/17/companies-should-support-employees-in-prioritizing-their-health/ (Accessed: 6 April 2023).
Yates, D. (2011) Researchers look for ingredients of happiness around the world. Available at: https://news.illinois.edu/view/6367/205291 (Accessed: 6 April 2023).
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A very different argument discussed in detailed.
ReplyDeletePost pandemic situations might have transformed the way we work however our basic needs remain the same. Maslow's theory would still be in practice as it focuses more on human aspects.
Thank you for your comment Kabilashini, yes absolutely, Maslow's theory continues to be "evergreen" so to speak because it highlights the needs of the people, and for the most part they have remained the same since the theory was mooted.
DeleteWhat would be interesting to see is in the next few decades whether through technological innovation, or changes to the way in people work (due to climate change or demographics) whether the narrative is changed enough for the theory to no longer be applicable
Hi Nithila, as you very correctly explained the Maslow’s hierarchy of need is applicable any time, any place and the any situation. When it comes to the pandemic of Covid19 the hierarchy of needs was started from the physiological needs, especially the requirement of medicine, food water etc. The safety needs of mutation and spreading virus, spaces of the hospital, scarcity of medicine etc. For love and belonging, help each other, care for other requirements & assist them. My argument is how esteem, and self-actualization levels would be applicable in this particular situation?
ReplyDeleteThank you for the comment Chamara, I really like your question, it provides good food for thought, because in many ways, particularly during lockdowns, Covid was a great leveler, meaning that your "Creature comforts" were distinguishable from your "lifestyle" related comforts, people could no longer rely on status symbols like cars, or luxury clothes, the real question is are they relevant is achieving self-actualization", Shoib S, Amanda TW, Menon V, et al (2022) define it as realizing one’s full professional potential, logically you ought to have a better chance achieving self-actualization if you're financial situation is better, however Lacsa (2022) argues that although it's available to every individual, rich or poor alike, the irony is that some people despite having all their basic needs, power, and prestige met, never attained their full potential.
DeleteHaving written an article on the same theory myself, I find this to be an interesting extension of the discussion. I suggest here that, while some of the needs that you have described above may have been reinforced by the pandemic, COVID-19 is no longer an issue that is spurring these needs on. Some of these needs such as mental health needs, flexibility of the workplace, and recognition and rewards are mutually exclusive needs that have arisen from even before the pandemic. Though they may have become exaggerated after the pandemic, they are not dependent entirely on the pandemic itself. What is your view on this?
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment Thanuki, Yes I think you have a point there, the debate on these issues existed prior to Covid but were brought to the forefront by the pandemic. There has always been controversy regarding subjects like "hustle culture" as defined by Molina (2023) as "a workplace environment places an intense focus on productivity, ambition, and success, with little regard for rest, self care, or any sense of work-life balance" some industries epitomise this such as finance and certain tech startups.
DeleteOverwork has long been a way for employees to show their loyalty for also to justify the receipt for promotions and increments, as per Weller (2017) Japanese work culture was so intense that they coined a word for it called "karoshi", which literally means death by overwork! It was considered a noble way to die! Obviously, the narrative is changing and modern employees also have access to sources of income previous generations didn't have access to, such as the "gig economy" which gives them more options.
It is interesting that you brought up the hustle culture. That is a discussion on its own. If anything, I would say that the pandemic pushed the hustle culture forward.
DeleteA valuable article to change the viewpoint on 'Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs'. As you mentioned in your post, the new normal situation after Covid_19 pandemic has changed the priorities of humans' lives. However, the basic physiological needs have continued to have its' position. So I also agree with your opinion that, 'Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs continues to offer guidance to interpret motivation'.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment Thilini, I appreciate your feedback!
DeleteA well-constructed article.
ReplyDeleteAnother strategy identified that HR managers can use to support employee well-being is providing employees with professional development opportunities. For instance, organisations can provide employees with training programs, coaching, mentoring, and advancement opportunities that help them develop their skills and progress in their careers.
Thank you for your comment Nadeer, yes you bring up an interesting point that well-being is broader topic, I actually read an interesting article by Lategan (2023) where he proposes the concept of "Employee wholeness", which he refers to as a more comprehensive approach that takes into consideration all aspects of an employee's life, including physical, emotional, social, financial, and spiritual well-being.
DeleteDo check out the article (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/beyond-wellness-how-focusing-employee-wholeness-can-benefit-lategan/)
Totally agree, In my view, Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a classic theory that has been widely taught and discussed for decades (Hoffman, 2019). While it's true that the theory is not new, it still remains relevant today. In fact, recent events have highlighted just how important it is to address the basic physiological and safety needs of individuals before they can focus on higher-level needs such as self-actualization.
ReplyDeleteThank you Praveen! Yes absolutely, the leadership of organisations have realised the connection between employees achieving their "hierarchy of needs" and the impact that can have on a company's bottom line, overall competitiveness and long-term performance. Allas & Weddle (2022) refer to a 2002 study that showed evidence that higher employee satisfaction is associated with higher profitability
DeleteThis blog post offers a thought-provoking analysis of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and its relevance in the modern workplace. It's interesting to consider how employee needs may have evolved over time and how organizations can adapt their HR practices to meet those changing needs.
ReplyDeleteIt would be beneficial to explore how Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs may vary across different cultures and demographic groups, and how this may impact HR practices. Hope to see those in your future blogs.
Thank you for the comment Prasadi, you once again raise a very valid point, as alluded to in my blog post, one of the criticisms of Maslow's work was indeed that there was an ethnocentric bias because the focus was on Caucasian Americans, in fact MooreChavez*2, Chase et al (2021) found that higher motivations, proceeding toward the top of Maslow’s Hierarchy (i.e., self-actualization, esteem, love and belonging – in that order), were less universally applicable when testing a sample of Latino Migrant Adolescents in U.S. Agriculture.
DeleteWe all now after Covid-19 pandamic, recovery employment and economic development was very hard. While considered necessary for reducing the risk of spreading Covid-19 , the confinement measures are putting unprecedented pressure on local labour markets and economics. The Mason's hierarchy of needs is a theory of psychological explaining about human motivation based on the pursuit of different levels of needs. Therefore you combined these two topics well.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your feedback Wishmila
DeleteI agree with your perspective that while the pandemic has certainly exacerbated certain needs such as mental health and workplace flexibility, these needs were present before the pandemic and will continue to be relevant even after the pandemic is over. In fact, the pandemic has highlighted the importance of addressing these needs and has brought them to the forefront of discussions around employee well-being and organizational culture.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment Lalindra, I think that is a very astute observation you make, Covid was merely a catalyst for these conversations to be brought into the foreground
DeleteVery correctively applied the theory from a different angle. I think employees are more concerned regarding their physical and mental well-being after the Covid pandemic and I see it as a positive thing from the employees' side as well as from the organization because a motivated employee is a valuable asset to the company. A valuable article that is valid every time.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your feedback Gayan, I completely agree, in fact, Nystrom (2020) argues that employees will often be willing to go that extra mile for the organisation because their jobs allow them a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction
DeleteThe blog post explores the question of whether Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, a widely known theory in psychology and management, is still relevant in today's workplace. The author argues that while the theory is still valid, it needs to be updated to reflect the changing nature of work and the workforce.
ReplyDeleteThe author cites examples such as the need for belongingness and social interaction in remote work settings and the importance of self-actualization in the gig economy. The author also suggests that managers need to be aware of the different needs and motivations of a diverse workforce and tailor their management style accordingly.
Overall, the blog post provides a thoughtful analysis of the relevance of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs in today's workplace and offers practical suggestions for managers to apply the theory in a modern context.
As a working professional, I can say that the post is well-written and offers valuable insights for HR professionals and managers who want to better understand and motivate their workforce. The post acknowledges the limitations of Maslow's theory in today's workplace and provides relevant examples to support its argument. Additionally, the post offers practical advice for applying the theory in a modern work setting. Well pitched.
Thank you very much for the kind feedback Chathura!
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