How Gender Affects the Workplace

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How Gender Affects the Workplace

There have been studies, debates and misconceptions on the differences between men and women. One area of importance is how our personal needs affect our behavior/ performance in the workplace. According to Maslow Hierarchy of needs there are basic needs which must be met before moving to the next level of need. These needs affect men and women positively and negatively.

According to Maslow men and women have individual needs such as Biological, safety, attachment, esteem, cognitive, aesthetic, self-actualization and Transcendence . Each need must be met before moving to the next level of need. Maslow's hierarchical theory of needs is often represented as a pyramid (see attached)

It has been said, "Man cannot live by bread alone". We have basic biological such as the need to eat, rest, and water, oxygen and even sex. Our bodies react negatively if; these basic biological needs are deprived from us. We dehydrate if go without water for a long period of time. People have died from hunger-lack of food. And, everyone needs oxygen in order to function properly or it can negatively affect the brain and other bodily organs. Most of us today probably couldn't imagine going one day without food. Unfortunately, many people have to work twice as hard in order to have a place to live or to eat for a day.

Once biological needs are met men and women have the need for security. Security is the need to feel safe, to feel assured that one is aware of what is going to happen ahead of time. Although the need for security has proven to be greater among women than men, insecurity can affect both genders negatively personally and, in the workplace.

Security is whatever makes one feel safe...

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February 2000. ... Alderfer's Hierarchy of Motivational Needs ...

http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/regsys/maslow.html

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... confronted. The frequency and duration of these individual meetings depends on the needs of staff member. For some veterans who require little support or ...

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6. Boys Behaving Badly: Men Mostly at Fault For Rising Incivility at Work

The Associated Press

By Kate N. Grossman

The Associated Press

C H I C A G O, Aug. 11

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES

1. Steven Robbins, Organizational Behavior (New Jersey: Prentice Hall 2001)

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