Understanding the Influence of Motivation When Designing Satisfactory Jobs

 

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in an Organizational Context

As per  (Herrity, 2022), it is important for an employee to assess if their needs are met in their current position and assess if their desired needs are left unmet, employers see low engagement and are resulted with employees who are unhappy and have low morale. According to (Sun and Zuo, 2023),  Maslow’s hierachy of needs posists the human needs which are organized in a hierachichial order which must be satistied before individuals can be motivated to pursue fulfilling higher level needs. (Sharma, 2023) further adds to the afore stating that higher demands in the hierarchy emerge when one has fully satisfied the preceding needs.

 

Figure 1: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Herrity, 2022)

 

As per (Jerome, 2013),  it is noted that Maslow’s theory outlines five hierarchical needs which are applicable to an organization and their employee’s performance where one does not feel the need to satisfy the second need until the first is satisfied so on and so forth.

1)      Physiological Needs – covers the biological needs, for instance, food, water, air, all which are the strongest needs which come first in a person’s search for satisfaction. (Roy, 2023) depicts that from the perspective of employee engagement, the basic need from a job is salary to become financially independent.

2)      Safety Needs- once the physiological needs are met, the need for security becomes active especially in times of emergency and social structure disorganization periods. (Roy, 2023) states, job stability, security and a stable work environment would not be fulfilled if the job does not fulfill the security need which may not be affected by the uncertainty of the job market. (Roy, 2023)  further states that employees wish to look for a healthy work culture, with supportive bosses and cooperative colleagues.

3)     Needs for Love, Affection and Belongingness- once the safety needs are met where people seek to overcome loneliness, alienation and involves receiving and giving love and a sense of belonging. According to (Herrity, 2022), the ability to identify needs in terms of feeling supported and safe whilst having a sense of belonging, impacts the employees’ attitude in terms of influencing the workplace around them.

4)      Needs for esteem- once the third level is satisfied, the need for self-esteem and esteem received from others becomes dominant with self-confidence and being valuable is met thereafter. If these needs are not met one feels frustrated, weak, inferior, and worthless. As per (Roy, 2023) employees want acknowledgement through recognition from their co-workers and having a feeling of accomplishment is key to staying satisfied and esteemed to fulfill their esteem needs.

5)    Needs for self-actualization- once all the foregone needs are satisfied, one needs to do what one wants to. As per (Herrity, 2022), one has reached self-actualization when they understand their abilities, skills and capability at the workplace resulting in them being more engaged. (Roy, 2023)  supports the afore by stating that Self-actualization is where employees want to develop their skills and become an expert in their field which boosts their potential to lead and motivate others.

 

According to (Roy, 2023), when people fail to meet various needs of the hierarchy, they suffer from mental health issues which takes a toll on their wellbeing overall resulting in them showing lower levels of employee engagement, productivity, employee morale and retention. The afore observation is noted based on the understanding of the necessity for individuals to satisfy one level before fulfilling the next. However, (Bennington, 2019), notes that Maslow focuses not on the behavior in an organization nor motivation but is more generic towards human needs with the concern on growth and reaching creativity. This statement brings about the notion that it may be a possibility for employees to feel a need towards wanting multiple elements form different tiers at the same time.

 

Distinguishing Needs and Factors which Influence Employees Motivation

 

1)      Maslow’s Needs

According to (CFI Team, n.d.) Maslow has seperated the hierachy on needs into two types, namely growth needs and deficency needs with the significant difference of when growth needs are met motivation increases whilst when deficency needs are met motivation decereases. In keeping with (CFI Team, n.d.), growth needs origniate from the desire to grow and become better as a persom to fulfill their growth needs where when the desire to become better increases the level of motivation increases. On the other hand, deficency needs cover the physiological, safety, love and belonging and esteem needs in the hierachy which imply that one desires to obtain things that they lack and their motivation to obtain these things decreases once obatined (CFI Team, n.d.). Furthermore, engagement and motivation, which are most times team-based attitudes, imply that if the individuals in a team`s needs are met a more engaging positive workplace culture is being created (Roy, 2023). The afore depicts that when it comes to working in teams, if the growth needs and motivational factors within the team is low it runs the risk of the team being less satisfied with completing the tasks and meeting deadlines.

 
Figure 2: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs depicting the needs (CFI Team, n.d.)

2)      Herzberg’s Two Factors

According to  (Adanlawo,Nkomo and Vezi-Magigaba, 2023), Herzberg`s two factor hygine and motivation theory denotes that job motiavtors are connected to the conetent of the job whilst job hygiene factors are coneceted to the context of employment.

As per (Sun and Zuo, 2023),  the Herzberg theory identifies that hygiene factors  such as company policies, working conditions are necessary to prevemt employee dissatisfaction however, this does not lead to motivation. In keeping with (Sun and Zuo, 2023) it is noted that motivators such as opportunities for growth and recognition are driving employee factors and job satisfaction.

Organizations must provide a supportive work environment whilst adressing hygeine factors to create a foundation for motiavtion to take place (Sun and Zuo, 2023). This implies that both hygiene and motivational factors are inversly propotional in creating a postive work environment.

 

Figure 3: Herzberg`s Two Factor Theory (Sun and Zuo, 2023)

 

Applying Motivation in the Workplace for Leaders and Managers When Designing Jobs for Existing Employees

As per (Sharma, 2023), it is notified that prior to designing recognition or reward programs it is important to identify the exact employee’s needs. Managers or Leaders should first assess each team member’s needs. According to (Bennington, 2019), people’s needs are different hence, they need to be managed and motivated in different ways which managers need to think on how to make meaningful work for each employee. Hence, managers need to examine what motivates and demotivates each of their employees. The following are a few manners in which they could design a positive motivational environment to encourage employees to have a better work experience.

 

1)    Understanding Individual`s Needs- it is important to understand the goals, needs and aspirations of team members which can be done by organizing one on one informal or formal meetings, performance reviews which help leaders learn about the needs. As per (Channell's, 2023), the leader can henceforth tailor their approach to meet the needs effectively for the employees.

2)    Prioritizing Basic Needs- As per (Channell's, 2023), it is important for individual team members to meet their basic needs in the workplace which is the bare minimum for leaders and managers along with ensuring the staff has adequate health and safety measures, comfortable work environment and competitive benefits and salaries. Leaders could privately inquire about their employees’ basic needs situations through informal meetings if there is an existent good relationship or inquire through HR.

3)    Fostering a Positive and Inclusive Culture- According to (Channell's, 2023), fostering a positive work environment which has open communication, collaboration as well as wellbeing and diversity can increase productivity and motivation.

4)   Providing Recognition and Feedback- (Channell's, 2023), in order to meet self-actualization needs, it is important to appreciate achievements of team members and provide constructive feedback on a regular basis whilst rewarding for good work such as bonuses depending on the individuals or teams needs. This is expected to be carried out for all designations within a team and not to be done as a temporary action by the leaders.

5)     Supporting Growth and Development- As per (Channell's, 2023), supporting the self-actualization and esteem needs of team members by managers and leaders on regular basis provide development and growth opportunities which enhance skills which are achieved through networking events, training programs and mentorship opportunities. This in turn benefits the organization as when they invest in their employees training their outcomes are bound to be better and bring in more profit as the employees are well equipped with the necessary skills which may even give them a competitive advantage in their relevant industry or field.

6)   Empowerment and Delegation- (Channell's, 2023) denotes that by giving staff autonomy over their work by delegating some important tasks can empower and motivate staff as well as build their self-esteem. As per (Sun and Zuo, 2023), the self-determination theory posists that individuals are motivated when a feeling of autonomity and competency in their work where employees are motivated when they have control over their work whilst feeling a sense of meaning and purpose in their work. Hence, in the workplace, orgnaizations could foster motivation by providing employees opportunities for development and growth whilst creating a supporting environments which encorage mastery and autonomy. Managers should first however, be aware of the capacity of each team member prior to delegating work and identify which memebers work well with higher and lower levels of autonomy.

 

 

 

Figure 4: Self- Determination Theory (Sun and Zuo, 2023),

 

7)    Clear Communication- (Channell's, 2023) states that being transparent with involving the teams aims and goals of the organization help employees feel appreciated, involved, and valued by the company where staff will have more security and trust motivating them to do a greater job. The more staff opinions and inputs are considered the more the have a sense of belonging at their workplace.

8)    Encouraging Work-life Balance- As per (Dwivedula, 2023), psychological stress is operational through constructions such as emotional and physical demands, role stresses and pressures on the job which result in low work motivation. According to (Channell's, 2023), work-life balance should be encouraged with perks such as flexible working, increased holiday allowance and looking out for staff well-being to prevent stress, job turnover and burnout. Hence, Leaders and managers must ensure to allocate the required leaves, brakes and flexible work arrangements necessary to assist employees in providing productive outcomes on an individual basis.

 

Ultimately, it is important for managers and leaders to understand the motivational needs of humans which is highlighted by Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, the two factors which contribute to job dissatisfaction and satisfaction through Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory and how employees can enhance their wellbeing and performance by the Self- Determination Theory. Through the aforementioned theories, organizational leadership and HR would have a better advantage in designing better jobs for new recruitments to their organizations as well as have a better understanding of how to redesign and craft existing jobs which are satisfactory and motivational for their employees.

 

References

Bennington, L., 2019. Motivating employees: issues with the hierarchy of needs approach. [Online]
Available at: https://www.aigroup.com.au/resourcecentre/resource-centre-blogs/hr-blogs/motivating-employees-issues-with-the-hierarchy-of-needs-approach/

Channell's, M., 2023. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: How Leaders & Managers Can Motivate Their Teams. [Online]
Available at: https://www.tsw.co.uk/blog/leadership-and-management/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs/

Dwivedula, R., 2023. Work Motivation Research in the Past Decade: What Do We Know and Where Do We Go?. International Journal of Intellectual Human Resource Managemen.

Eyitayo Francis Adanlawo, N. Y. N. a. M. V.-M., 2023. Compensation as a motivating factor for job satisfaction and performance. International Jornal of Research in Business and Social Science, Volume 12.

Herrity, J., 2022. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: Applying It in the Workplace. [Online]
Available at: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs

Jerome, D. N., 2013. Application of the Maslow’s hierarchy of need theory; impacts and implications on organizational culture, human resource and employee’s performance. International Journal of Business and Management Invention.

Roy, B. D., 2023. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs in Employee Engagement (Pre and Post Covid 19). [Online]
Available at: https://blog.vantagecircle.com/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs-in-employee-engagement/

Sharma, S., 2023. Hierarchy of employees’ needs: Designing the perfect employee rewards and recognition program. [Online]
Available at: https://hrsea.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/hierarchy-of-employees-needs-designing-the-perfect-employee-rewards-and-recognition-program/94680824

Team, C., n.d. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. [Online]
Available at: https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/management/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs/
[Accessed 25 November 2023].

Zuo, P. S. a. X., 2023. The Missing Piece: Incorporating Organizational Factors in Employee Motivation Research. International Journal of Science and Business, 25(1).