{"id":26441,"date":"2021-02-09T09:26:22","date_gmt":"2021-02-09T13:26:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=26441"},"modified":"2021-02-14T23:41:43","modified_gmt":"2021-02-15T03:41:43","slug":"ways-to-motivate-employees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/ways-to-motivate-employees\/","title":{"rendered":"Ways to Motivate Employees: Self Actualization Works"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What are the best ways to motivate employees<\/a>? What tactics can managers use to make sure employees feel inspired?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are many ways to motivate employees. In High Output Management,<\/em> Andrew Grove explains that motivating employees comes down to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and self-actualization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading to find out the best ways to motivate employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Ways to Motivate Employees<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If an employee\u2019s poor performance isn\u2019t due to a lack of training, it may be due to a lack of motivation.<\/strong> Motivation comes from the inside, so you can\u2019t instill it in or force it on someone. What you can <\/em>do is foster an environment where people can become motivated and perform well. Here are thee best ways to motivate employees: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maslow\u2019s Hierarchy of Needs<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

According to Abraham Maslow, people are motivated by the desire to satisfy their needs. Once a need is met, motivation ceases. Therefore, to create motivation, you need to create a climate in which some of people\u2019s needs are constantly unsatisfied.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

People have many needs and they fall into a hierarchy\u2014only once you\u2019ve satisfied your most important and basest needs do you start trying to satisfy your higher needs. This is one of the best ways to motivate employees: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the needs, in order of lowest to highest:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Survival,<\/strong> which is the need for basic necessities such as food, clothing, and shelter. <\/li>
  2. Safety, <\/strong>which is the need for things that allow access to basic necessities. (Shortform example: Having a job is a safety need because it allows you to buy the food you need to survive.)<\/li>
  3. Belonging,<\/strong> which is the need to be part of a group of like-minded members and the need for love and relationships<\/a>.<\/li>
  4. Status,<\/strong> which is the need for recognition<\/a> or esteem, or to keep up with others. Often, this recognition is only valuable to the person seeking it. <\/li>
  5. \u201cSelf-actualization,\u201d <\/strong>which is the need to achieve your personal best or a higher purpose. There are two drivers of this need:
    1. Competence.<\/strong> This is the drive to become a master<\/a> of a particular skill. The majority of people are competence-driven. <\/li>
    2. Achievement. <\/strong>This is the need to be good at everything you do. <\/li><\/ol><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      The first three needs inspire employees to get a job and report for work. All three of them are possible to satisfy, so when they\u2019re met, motivation ceases. This is important to considering ways to motivate employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n