Have you ever heard about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? It’s one of the most popular theories of human psychological and physical needs proposed by Abraham Maslow. According to this idea, there are 5 levels of human needs: physiological (food and clothing), safety (job security), love and belonging needs (friendship), esteem, and self-actualization. Now that we know what 5 factors are responsible for your workers’ wellbeing, let’s try to dig in a little deeper and find out what are the main employee needs. It is important to remember that every employee is an individual who must feel special and respected in the workplace and you, as a leader, have to always make an environment full with purpose, recognition and new opportunities to satisfy the employee needs.
A Feeling of Importance in The Workplace
Your every employee is an individual with a different background, beliefs, and life values. So, it’s no wonder that every one of them would like to be treated individually and feel their importance. In fact, most of the workers are convinced that their boss or manager doesn’t even know them by name. If you feel like most of your employees don’t consider themselves as an important part of the company, then you may need to change your ways of showing appreciation for your workers. Believe it or not, people tend to feel more responsible for the work they do when they know their value for the place.
Respect
Everyone deserves to be respected in their workplace. A respectable and kind environment is one of the most important employee needs. If people feel like they’re treated with respect, they’ll most likely respond to others with respect and kindness as well. Be sure that you pay attention to all complaints and worries of your workers. And don’t forget to respond to them on time.
Reason or a Meaning in Their Work
We’re all terrified to spend our whole life on meaningless things. That’s why people tend to search for meaning in every aspect of their lives or else we can turn to burnout.
And the workplace is no exception.
According to recent research by Emplify, seeing the results of their work each day, even when it’s a small win, can make an enormous difference in how people feel about their work. So, you may want to involve your employees in the work details as much as possible. Show them the results, share with your employees your company’s vision and beliefs, and provide them with a clear meaning behind their work. Remember the simple rule that works for everyone: “We have an inherent desire to be part of something that’s much bigger than ourselves”.
Employee Recognition as one of the Main Employee Needs
One of the biggest motivations for employees is being noticed (obviously not in a “bad” way). Recognition helps your employees know that you appreciate them, that you “see” them, and that you’re aware of their worth. While most of you’d think that recognition comes only with valuable rewards and monetary bonuses, in reality, most of the time small things matter a lot more. Try to recognize your employee’s every achievement: from the smallest to the most important ones. You can use daily or weekly meetings with the team, one-on-one meetings, surveys or you can use employee recognition programs for the best results. Do it the way it’s most convenient for you and your team, but recognize and engage your employees as much as possible.
Feeling of Belonging
Social belonging (general) is one of the most important human needs, practically built in our DNA. Everyone needs to feel accepted, heard, and to belong to something great. So, the less you can do is to give them that feeling of belonging in the workplace. Create such an environment that will make your employees wake up every morning and actually want to come to work. Be sure that kindness, equality, and warmth are at the core of your every project and routine and you’ll notice how much happier and relaxed your workers become. Don’t forget that every employee is equal: they’re just doing different works.
Growth and Innovation
There was a time when you were expected to apply for a job and stay at the same place until your retirement. But times have, indeed, changed, and now keeping your employees for a long time is much harder than in the past. One of the most common causes for job change is monotony or, in other words, boredom. Every person will eventually fade if there are no new challenges or space for personal growth. As a result, you will have demotivated workers who will leave as time passes by or will be lazy and not engaged at work. People love innovations and changes even if they think otherwise at first, so be sure to give them that opportunity of growing and becoming their better selves.
Trends and ways of doing things may always change as time passes by but there are values that must always stay at the core of your every new project. We tried to sum-up some of the most important ones from that list. Try to remember them, try to stick to them, and shortly after you’ll notice how positively it affects your every employee.
