The Hierarchy of Needs was developed by Abraham Maslow as part of his attempts to understand and show the basic needs and wants of the average human. His work was based on research conducted by the brightest minds of his time. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs focuses on the various levels of human thought: Physiological needs, Survival Needs, Social Belonging and Love, Self-Esteem, and finally Self Actualization. A human is only able to reach self actualization after working their way up through the lower levels though.

A human being's basic concern is his physiological needs. For survival people should eat, breathe, quench their thirst, procreate and use the bathroom. Without all these they cannot live. The employee's basic needs and comforts should be looked after by the leader to make them use their complete potential. If the work place is extremely cold an employee cannot work fast and efficiently like working in more comfortable work place.

Employees need to feel secure. This is the second level of the hierarchy of needs. An employer should create this security with his workers by conveying that their jobs are safe and financially rewarding. If an employee believes that he is soon to be laid off, he will most certainly not work as hard as possible. He may even go further by disrupting the work of others or sabotaging some aspect of the job simply for revenge.

Feeling like a person belongs and is loved and desired is the third level. Employers can assist employees in making friends with each other. This will help to create a pleasant environment to work in. The employer can encourage these relationships by organizing small group tasks and organizing events.

The fourth level is all about a person's self esteem or self worth. All of us desire to belong; the sense of belongingness is very important for every individual. By being a member of a group, there is a capacity for us to experience feeling of accomplishments and faith in ones capabilities. Planning for a company recreation and events like sports fest can help bridge the gap and thus create a sense of camaraderie between employees. In addition to this it will give them a chance to unwind and at the same time boost their confidence level.

Finally, the last level, according to Maslow, is self actualization. This is our ability to be creative and problem solve. It also deals with our feelings of morality. We can achieve these feelings once we have reached all of the other previous levels that were already discussed. Only then, can we reach self actualization and become completely mature.

Daiv Russell is a management and marketing consultant with Envision Web Promotion. Read more    .