According to Abraham Maslow, certain physiological and psychological needs motivate and control what we do, and these needs progress from basic needs to more advanced and complex needs. Being a humanist, Maslow discovered that all humans desire to be whom they want to be. Some of the basic needs every human needs are love, self-esteem, safety, and food. Just as instincts play a significant role in motivating, he believed these needs were equally important. Maslow placed the needs into five different levels based on the following order:
- Physiological needs
- Safety needs
- Love and belonging needs
- Esteem needs
- Self-Actualization Needs
The lowest level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is physiological needs. These are essential things that every person needs to survive. These include food, shelter, clothing, and enough rest. At this level, a person is motivated by the need to survive.
Safety needs come second in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. These are the needs concerned with the safety and security of a person about their surrounding environment and the people they interact with. The level is motivated by the need for law and order and protection from prevailing conditions that are dangerous and unpredictable. Some things that allow people to fulfill their safety needs are police officers, medical care, and learning institutions that enable them to acquire various skills and knowledge in different fields of specialization (Hopper, 2020). At the workplace, these needs are fulfilled through monetary remunerations and safe working conditions. External pressures and accidents are brought about by social and financial stability. Apart from physical safety, a person needs economic security to thrive in the modern world.
The third level in the hierarchy of needs is love and belonging, which majorly comprises social needs, which include the feeling of love and belonging. Once security has been achieved, people tend to establish romantic and non-romantic relationships with people in their immediate environments while attempting to overcome loneliness, seclusion, and anxiety. The need for family, love, intimacy, and friendships are addressed at this level. These needs are important in people’s lives since they directly affect their productivity, engagement, and motivation with their colleagues in various fields. Friendships, love, trust, and acceptance are the major sections of social needs.
Like the previous levels, esteem needs are often attributed to a deficiency brought about by deprivation. Esteem needs to motivate individuals when they are left unaddressed. Esteem needs are grouped into two categories which are esteem for oneself and the need for respect and reputation from other people. Esteem from oneself can be related to a person’s dignity, confidence, independence, and freedom, whereas respect from others entails fame, prestige, and recognition (Hopper, 2020). Most people always desire to be recognized by others when they achieve something to feel a sense of value and importance.
The highest level in Maslow’s classification is the need for self-actualization, which according to him, is a growth need. At this level, a person is driven to realize their full potential. The need for self-realization can only be addressed when all four other needs have been addressed. The self-actualization needs are motivated in different ways, such as acquiring skills, advancing your education, seeking happiness, doing things that calm the spirit, soul, and mind, and pursuing your dream life.
Intrinsic Rewards
Intrinsic rewards are those that are acquired from work itself. Intrinsic rewards are mostly based on feelings and emotions. Some examples of intrinsic rewards include self-esteem, challenging situations at the workplace, feeling that your work is meaningful and important, and the achievements you make every day at the workplace (Manzoor et al., 2021). The friends you meet and social interactions at the workplace are also considered intrinsic rewards. Intrinsic rewards are commonly provided by designing good working conditions and tasks.
Extrinsic Rewards
Extrinsic rewards are those that are granted to an organization by the employer. They include salaries, promotions, status recognition such as having a personal office at the organization, recognition by titles such as the department heads, and praise from other employees and the employer (Malek et al., 2021). Fringe benefits such as being given the company’s car, insurance cover, expense account, and a fully sponsored vacation are extrinsic rewards.
Other Motivational Theories
McClelland’s theory of needs is based on the fact that regardless of age or gender, one of the three motivating drives will greatly impact our behavior. One of these motivating drives is achievement which is the need to accomplish and demonstrate our competency levels. People with a stronger desire for achievement prefer doing tasks geared toward their responsibility and getting results from their efforts. They also like having their efforts quickly acknowledged. The second drive is affiliation which is the need for love, the market to be socially accepted, and the need to feel a sense of belonging. Such people are motivated by what people think about them and how they can impress the people around them. They are primarily active in social gatherings and don’t like being engaged in conflicts. Power is the third drive, and it refers to the need and desire to control a person’s work or the works of others (Arquisola & Ahlisa, 2019). Such people enjoy influencing others, and they are more concerned about their influence levels than their performance at the workplace.
Alderfer’s ERG theory suggests that there are only three basic needs that a human being needs: existence, relatedness, and growth. Existence needs are those we primarily require: shelter, employment, food, water, clothing, and sleep. Relatedness needs are concerned with the interpersonal relationships between people and are mainly based on the social interactions between people. These relationships include family, friends, and intimate relationships. Growth needs are primarily based on our desire for self-growth and development. According to Alderfer, when a certain category of needs is unmet, people often have to double their efforts to achieve that need.
McGregor’s theory X and theory Y. Theory X implies that’ leaders in managerial positions who use this theory are more likely to use an authoritarian management style. According to this theory, these managers believe that their staff members hate work, have little or no motivation, and can’t work without supervision hence incapable of being accountable for their work. According to McGregor, such managers have to micromanage every duty each staff member performs so that the work is appropriately conducted (Acquah et al., 2021). Theory Y is used by managers who use a decentralized participative management style. Managers who use this theory believe that their staff members are willing and able to work under little or no supervision, they are proud of their work and do it passionately, they are driven by the desire to achieve more, and they are directly managing their efforts and take full ownership of their work.
In conclusion, motivation is a way of renewing the state of people’s minds and pushing them towards achieving more than just the bare minimum with a good spirit and a positive mindset. The above motivation theories help get a clear insight into the factors that drive motivation.
References
Acquah, A., Nsiah, T. K., Antie, E. N. A., & Otoo, B. (2021). Literature review on theories of motivation. EPRA International Journal of Economic and Business Review, 9(5), 25-29.
Arquisola, M. J., & Ahlisa, S. U. W. (2019). Do learning and development interventions motivate employees at PT Danone Indonesia? Applying McClelland’s theory of motivation to FMCG industries. FIRM Journal of Management Studies, 4(2), 160-176.
Hopper, E. (2020). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs explained. ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 24, 1-3.
Manzoor, F., Wei, L., & Asif, M. (2021). Intrinsic rewards and employee’s performance with the mediating mechanism of employee’s motivation. Frontiers in psychology, 12, 563070.
Malek, S. L., Sarin, S., & Haon, C. (2020). Extrinsic rewards, intrinsic motivation, and new product development performance. Journal of product innovation management, 37(6), 528-551.
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