Maslow Hierarchy Analysis

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Motivation is defined as individual internal process that energizes, directs and sustains behavior. Motivation depends on how much the person wants something and how likely they think they will get it. Managers struggle to improve motivation in the workplace, but with the right tools they can become successful. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a pyramid of personal satisfaction that need to be met so a person can reach their full potential and be happy. Each level of the pyramid is stratified from the bottom up. A person cannot move up the pyramid until the bottom needs are met. Maslow’s hierarchy is usually a personal tool used to assess how an individual is doing, but businesses adapted this tool to use in the workplace and improve morale. …show more content…

The lowest level of Maslow’s hierarchy needs is defined as basic needs. These are needs are described as, food, rest and shelter. A person cannot move on until this level is met. Managers translate this need in the form of salary. If a manager pays their team enough so they can afford rent, food and clothing than the employees basic needs are met. The next level of Maslow’s pyramid is safety and security. Every manager should create an environment that is physically safe. Managers can do this by taking sexual harassment and threats to other employees seriously. Managers should have policies set to deal with these potential outbreaks. Managers can also encourage safety and security in their team by letting them know their efforts are appreciated. If an employee makes a mistake, managers should encourage this event as a learning experience and help them to correct. When a manager lacks this ability, the employee could start to feel insecure and begin to wonder if they will be fired. Employees need to know that their jobs are secure. If a company starts making lay-offs, people can start fearing that their job is at risk too which means they start to become unmotivated to work and this specific need is no longer …show more content…

Even though work is not considered a social event, co-workers need to be a least civil with each other. Even if they do not get along with all of their coworkers or manager the sense of belonging still needs to be met. If the employee feels like they are not valued by their manager then they start to slack off. Managers can fix this situation by having personal recognition awards and self-evaluations throughout their employment. The last layer is the highest level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and it is related to self-esteem and self-actualization. This level is all about how the employee views him/her self. If an employee feels like they are doing the best they can and living up to their highest potential in life and is getting recognized for the work that is done than this need is met. However, if this need is not met they can start looking for other careers that try to satisfy this need. Managers can handle this situation by providing self-evaluations and one-on-one evaluations with each other. This idea can be check in points for the employee to gage how they are doing and what they need to improve. This is where both the manager and the employee can set goals. Goal-setting improves motivation in the workplace and achieve goals throughout their

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