Have you ever wondered what makes an employee happy and satisfied with their job? For sure money is the first thing that comes to mind, but is that the only factor that affects employee satisfaction?
Focusing on human motivation, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology introduced by Abraham Maslow. It is often display in the shape of a pyramid with the largest, most fundamental levels of needs, including physiological needs, safety and security, love and belonging, at the bottom and the need for self-esteem and self-actualization at the top.
Money may satisfy the fundamental level of needs; however, it cannot satisfy the self-esteem and self-actualization needs. Therefore, whenever a human satisfies their basic needs, they try to achieve the higher level of needs in the top of the pyramid.
How do you help employees get the higher levels of satisfaction according to the predefined needs in the pyramid?
- Discover each employee’s unique skills and talents that can be utilized to achieve both individual and organizational goals.
- Assign variable tasks periodically to employees in order to break the work routine and increase the level of experience and benefit in different areas.
- Appreciate employees’ work and give continuous feedback for improvements.
- Provide adequate trainings and workshops to enhance employees’ performance.
- Communicate a clear organizational vision and goals.
- Empower employees’ leadership skills to enable them to confront work challenges.
- Listen to your employees’ feedback and recommendations for work environment improvements.
- Promote social activities among employees to increase their sense of belonging and comfort with the work environment.
It’s a kind of win–win approach; happy and satisfied employee equals successful and stable organization. It shouldn’t be a contradiction that achieving benefits for both sides will result in overall satisfaction among employees as well as for the whole organization.
By: Nancy Wahid
EDITOR: Nada Adel Sobhi