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Before the pandemic, organizations’ EVPs generally satisfied the first two levels of Maslow’s hierarchy: in return for dedicating a large portion of their careers to a single organization, workers accepted a standard package of benefits that addressed (i) their level 1 physiological needs: food, clothing and health benefits and (ii) their level 2 safety needs: job security and a regular paycheck.
According to Maslow, workers, as humans, are intrinsically motivated to reach for more than just levels 1 and 2. We are programmed to also strive for levels 3, 4 and 5. Yet, most pre-pandemic organizational cultures and leadership styles failed to encourage or support their workers’ quest to feel they belong, are valued, and have the tools and training to reach for higher self-esteem.
Recent research supports Maslow’s conclusions. For example, social belonging is a fundamental human need, “hardwired” into human DNA.8 When workers feel that they belong, benefits to employers include, among other things, better job performance, lower turnover risk and fewer sick days.
During the pandemic, workers were able to do their jobs virtually and experience more meaningful time with families; focus on hobbies; work out more; and reflect on what is most important. They had an epiphany that it’s possible to be a productive employee and satisfy need levels 1 through 4. This in-pandemic employee experience — juxtaposed with employers’ reticence to adjust to new employee expectations — created the gap that is the root cause of the Great Resignation.
Closing the gap
How do organizations close this gap? By understanding Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and evolving their operating models to better satisfy employees’ basic human needs. In so doing, they will improve retention and loyalty, while also improving engagement, innovation, productivity and performance. Below are four steps CEOs can take today to close the gap and reverse the Great Resignation:
- Build a culture of belonging. Draft a new contract between the company and employees, and redesign your EVP to better enable workers to satisfy the human needs to belong and build self-esteem (Maslow’s need levels 3 and 4). Research shows that people with the highest sense of belonging have 34% higher intent to stay than those with a low sense of belonging.⁹
- Remember that a culture of belonging is built one high-belonging team at a time. Upskill executives and team leaders on how to coach and empower small teams to be high-belonging teams. There is a detailed neuroscience-driven method for how to build and sustain high-belonging teams informed by Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs.
- Evolve executive compensation to hold team leaders accountable for achieving minimum KPIs related to creating and sustaining high-belonging teams.
- Operate with daily purpose and future vision. Today, many employees expect the companies they work for to do more than simply make money for shareholders — although that is also important. They want to work for organizations that stand for something meaningful today and have clear visions for the value they plan to create tomorrow for stakeholders and society. Companies that execute with purpose are more likely to create long-term value.
By taking these four steps, CEOs can begin to address the human factors underlying the Great Resignation and its symptoms: increased employee attrition, stress, burnout and low morale.