Thus life satisfaction is not just an individual affair, but depends substantially also on the quality of life of one’s fellow citizens. (Tay and Diener, 2011)
Given all the recent upheaval I suspect the things that motivated us back in January 2020 are not necessarily the things that are driving us now. It feels like the rug has been pulled from beneath us and everything we might once have taken for granted has been called into question. We have seen as a sector concerns grow not only for ourselves but for arts and culture as a whole. We have also seen a spotlight shone on the flaws in the sector, which has exposed the vulnerabilities of our freelance workforce, issues around diversity and so. I have been having many conversations where individuals are clearly feeling the anguish of others in the current situation.
This has brought to mind an old favourite model that might help us have some insights into what is motivating us at the moment and how to understand different expectations. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (1958) emerged in the 1940s as a five tier model that later evolved into eight tiers. Although it is set out as a distinct hierarchy Maslow was clear that you could fulfill some needs while others were unmet, that is the order can be flexible as a result of context or individual differences. Most behaviour is also usually multi-motivated. The tiers respond to different levels of needs:
- Basic needs: food, drink, safety etc
- Psychological needs: being accepted and belonging, competence and recognition
- Self-fulfillment or growth needs: knowledge and understanding, appreciation of beauty, reaching potential and transcendence
In case you’re not familiar with the seven tier model (you may have come across the five tiers before) it includes:
- Physiological needs; air, food, water, shelter, sleep etc.
- Safety needs: health, employment, security, order, law and stability
- Love and belongingness: friendship, connection, trust, intimacy and affection etc.
- Esteem needs: confidence, dignity, achievement, mastery and respect from others
- Cognitive needs: knowledge, understanding, curiosity and intellectual challenge
- Aesthetic needs: beauty, balance, form etc.
- Self-actualisation needs: reaching potential, creativity, sense of purpose, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth
- Transcendence needs: motivated by values beyond the self, services to others, faith, pursuit of art or science
Psychologists now conceptualize motivation as a pluralistic behavior, whereby needs can operate on many levels simultaneously. A person may be motivated by higher growth needs at the same time as lower level deficiency needs. (McLeod, 2007)
From my perspective it is useful to revisit this model at the moment as a way of thinking about where people’s attention may be directed. Some of us may still be feeling alright in terms of our self-esteem, and self-actualisation even though we are far less certain about our physiological and safety and security needs. I would suggest as a sector we are very used to working in the upper levels of the hierarchy, many of the arguments we make for our existence are based on the value of self-actualisation, self-esteem, and reaching potential. This perhaps makes it more challenging to have to now pay extra attention to basic needs.
What are the issues that might emerge related to needs fulfilment at the moment?
- Mismatched expectations: people having a different sense of what the priorities are as a result of different needs
- Talking at cross purposes: this may result in conversations where some people are coming from an individual perspective whilst others are focused on the collective
- Demands that feel unreasonable: linked to the above it may feel like some individuals are making demands for needs to be met that are not feasible or reasonable in the context
- Compassion fatigue: emotional and physical exhaustion as a result of caring for others, leading to a reduced capacity to empathise or feel sympathy for others
- Withdrawal and introversion: some people may be finding it increasingly difficult to engage with collective needs because of their own stress or anxiety about their personal situation
- Perceived self-centredness: there is a danger that attitudes within teams or groups may become judgemental and tensions will arise. Particularly where some people are focused on basic needs while others are more interested in psychological needs or growth
As with all models the Hierarchy of Needs has weaknesses but for me its value is in bringing things into awareness and helping us reflect on why people might be behaving in the way they are and what they feel their needs are. Some of the techniques I mentioned on Monday related to handling brain fog are also relevant here, maybe the Hierarchy of Needs also gives us a mechanism to have more open conversations about what people need and expect at the moment. We are all having to adjust, and probably compromise on, how our needs can be met.
References
MASLOW, A. H. 1958. A Dynamic Theory of Human Motivation.
MCLEOD, S. 2007. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Simply psychology, 1, 1-8.
TAY, L. & DIENER, E. 2011. Needs and subjective well-being around the world. Journal of personality and social psychology, 101, 354.