Maslow’s theory is based on the hierarchy of needs, where every level of that pyramid has a certain class of needs.
Needs at the bottom of the pyramid are the basic ones as they are concerned with survival. Once these are satisfied, the worker moves to the next level, and once a level is ‘passed’, the needs on that level become less important. In practice, very few manage to reach the top of the pyramid, because in order to do so, all other needs must be fully satisfied.
Advantages
- Based on the level an employee is on, business can see what rewards are suitable for him.
- Workers feel like they are being taken care of, which increases productivity and motivation.
Disadvantages
- Difficult for business to decide on a specific reward.
- Difficult to determine when a particular level of needs has been satisfied.
- Not feasible for all jobs to provide all levels of the hierarchy
- The levels of the hierarchy are difficult to quantify.
- Freelance workers do not have many of these things, but can still be motivated and successful.
- The model neglects to suggest what happens to people with all of these things, such as Bill Gates.