Description: Meeting basic human needs provide motivation for people to feel safe, more fulfilled, and more productive. Abraham Maslow grouped a person’s physical and emotional needs into groups forming a hierarchy of needs. The needs Maslow identified are from bottom to top: physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, self-esteem, and self-actualization. Maslow felt that the needs at the bottom of the hierarchy must be met before a person can begin to strive to meet the higher-level needs.
What does this have to do with your motivation for working? Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs can help you determine from where your motivation to work is coming. It is important for you to know where you are on the hierarchy today as an unsatisfied need acts as a motivator. For example, if you are currently struggling to pay for your house, you need to satisfy the physiological needs before moving up the hierarchy. This means that you might look for any job that gives you a paycheck rather than holding out for the perfect management position. |
