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Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory

How to apply it to the workplace

Chip Conley, founder of the Joie de Vivre hotel chain

and Head of Hospitality at Airbnb, used the Hierarchy
of Needs pyramid to transform his business.
According to Chip, many managers struggle with the
abstract concept of self actualization and so focus
on lower levels of the pyramid instead.
Conley found one way of helping with higher levels
was to help his employees understand the meaning
of their roles during a staff retreat…
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“In one exercise, we got groups of eight housekeepers at a table and
asked an abstract question: if someone from Mars came down and saw
what you were doing as a housekeeper in a hotel, what name would
they call you? They came up with “The Serenity Sisters,” “The Clutter
Busters,” and “The Peace of Mind Police.” There was a sense that
people were doing more than just cleaning a room. They were creating a
space for a traveler who was far away from home to feel safe and
protected.”
Conley’s team were able to realize the importance of their job to the
company and to the people they were helping. By showing them the
value of their roles, the team were able to feel respected and motivated
to work harder.
In order to get the most out of your team, you should also make sure
you support them in other aspects of their lives outside work. Perhaps
you could offer flexible working hours to give employees time to focus
on their families and make sure they are paid fairly to help them feel
financially stable. 3
 Alderfer's ERG Theory
On a work level, this means that managers must
recognize his employees' multiple simultaneous needs.
In Alderfer's ERG model, focusing exclusively on one
need at a time will not motivate your people. The
frustration-regression principle impacts workplace
motivation. For example, if growth opportunities are not
provided to employees, they may regress to relatedness
needs, and socialize more with co-workers. If you can
recognize these conditions early, steps can be taken to
satisfy the frustrated needs until the employee is able to
pursue growth again.
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McGregor Theories X and Theory Y

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 Hertzberg’s Two-Factor Theory
The two factors are applied in the
workplace through comprehensive
salary and benefits programs,
developing team-building workshops and
creating ways to recognize good
performance. Be competitive when
recruiting so you motivate people to stay
and remain loyal. 6
The following two steps process can be used to apply
McClelland’s theory:
Step 1: Identify Motivational Needs of the team
Examining the team to determine which of the three needs is a
motivator for each person. Personality traits and past actions can help in
this process.
For example, someone who always takes charge of the team when a
project is assigned. The one who speaks up in meetings to encourage
people, and delegates responsibilities in order to facilitate achieving the
goals of the group. Someone who likes to control the final deliverables.
This team member is likely being driven by power.
Another team member who does not speak during meetings, and is
happy agreeing with the team thoughts, is good at managing conflicts
and may seem uncomfortable while someone talks about undertaking
high-risk, high-reward tasks. This team member is likely being driven by
affiliation.
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Step 2: Approaching Team According to their Need type
Based on the motivating needs of the team members, alter
your leadership style to assign projects according to the
need type of each individual team member. Challenging
projects would definitely be a part of work portfolio of
someone who enjoys power while relatively simpler projects
go to the kitty of someone derived from affiliation. This
information is crucial to influence while setting up relevant
goals for the individual, monitoring, providing feedback,
recommending the learning plan etc. If a particular need type
does not fit the position of the individual, he/she can be
made aware of the same, so that they can either work in
right direction or accept their fate. 8