The Maslow theory of motivation encompasses five hierarchical human needs. Essentially, the perspectives of theory assert that the needs of the employees form the basis of the level of motivation that manifests in their day-to-day life. Notably, man is inherently a wanting animal and thus their needs and how they are met greatly determine the degree of their commitment to the particular tasks that they undertake in their day-to-day life. According to theory, the following are the needs of the man that influence their level of motivation: Physiological needs, Safety Needs, Love Needs, Esteem Needs, and Self-Actualization. As such, these needs are the core determinants of human behavior and will be the main emphasis of the subsequent discussions. More importantly, form the main aspects of how human beings interact with their work engagements. According to Denhardt et al., (2020), the Maslow theory asserts that the degree of satisfaction with the aforementioned needs determines their actual motivational levels. While each of these needs may not be fully satisfied, once their level of satisfaction is adequate an individual becomes inclined to undertake particular tasks to the best of their ability. However, their level of influence depends on their level (Denhardt et al., 2020). For the higher level needs, they have a greater influence on the level of motivation compared to those at the lower levels. In more precise terms, the higher level needs dominate those at the lower levels. The higher pyramid below illustrates the hierarchical needs of men based on their level and thus as mentioned above the degree of influence they have on the life of the individual. The level of motivation increases as the level of these needs is met. To explain, the level of motivation that one experiences is higher when these needs are met and declines when they are not met. As such, organizations that seek to motivate their employees must undertake such policy frameworks that positively impact the motivation levels of the employees.
Self-fulfillment needs encompass such needs that contribute to one’s capacity to meet their full potential when undertaking particular tasks. However, to meet this need, it is of fundamental importance that the individual adequately meets their lower-level needs to ensure a sense of cognitive balance. In the absence of these lower-level needs; one cannot adequately meet the needs of the higher levels. Therefore, achieving an adequate sense of fulfillment of the higher level needs including self-actualization and esteem needs both the basic needs and psychological needs must be adequately met (Lussier, 2019). Basic needs of food, water, warmth and rest are the most fundamental and once they are met, the individual progresses to the psychological needs that greatly help to improve towards ensuring that their higher level needs. Interestingly, despite the higher level needs dominating the lower level needs, the latter are of greater importance to the human being than those at the upper level. As such physiological needs; food, water, shelter, etc are the most fundamentally important needs that an individual requires. Therein, the safety needs then develop as a need and progressively to the other levels. According to Maslow, these five fundamental human needs form the most core motivational aspects of human being that drive their actions of the human beings. To conclude as the above discussions show, the nature of human needs is in different levels according to Maslow's theory. More accurately, each of human need is an important part of their growth and when they are adequately met an individual attains growth. However, the hierarchy is flexible, and depending on the prepotency of each need as one perceives its importance may be adjusted. The bottom line is that it is of great importance that each need is met to adequate levels to ensure that the motivation of a person remains high.
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References
Denhardt, R. B., Denhardt, J. V., Aristigueta, M. P., & Rawlings, K. C. (2020). Managing human behavior in public and nonprofit organizations. CQ Press.
Lussier, K. (2019). Of Maslow, motives, and managers: The hierarchy of needs in American business, 1960–1985. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 55 (4), 319-341. https://doi.org/10.1002/jhbs.21992
