Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in the Workplace
At a Glance
Discipline
- Social sciences
- Psychology
Instructional Level
- College & CEGEP
Course
- Workplace Psychology
Tasks in Workflow
Social Plane(s)
- Group
Type of Tasks
- Analyzing
Technical Details
Useful Technologies
- Projector for PPT slides
- Whiteboards for student presentations
Class size
- Small (20-49)
Time
- Single class period (< 90 mins)
Inclusivity & Accessibility
- Variety of action & expression
Instructional Purpose
- Application & knowledge building
Overview
The goal of this activity is to explore Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in the workplace.
Industrial/organizational psychology offers valuable insights into workplace dynamics, and so this activity will help students identify the needs that motivate workplace behavior/thoughts/emotions.
In groups of 3-4, students analyze work-related statements and organize them into categories that, eventually, will reflect Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. By organizing items into categories and creating names for these categories, students engage in inquiry-based learning.
Instructional Objectives
Students will be able to:
- Define each component of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
- Apply each component to a workplace-related statement
- Optional: Create a personal hierachy of needs
Workflow & Materials
Activity Workflow
Contributor's Notes
Benefits
Challenges
Tips
Benefits
- Engages students in a variety of settings (individual, small group, large group)
- Encourages students to apply theory to authentic situations
- Stimluates creativity and critical thinking
Challenges
- Some students might be shy to share their hierachy with the class – they can record their presentation or post it on a shared platform (e.g., Padlet)
- Some might find it difficult differentiating between Social and Esteem needs – it might be advisable to spend some extra time discussing the differences between these two categories “when presenting Maslow’s theory”
Tips
- As with most group work, random group assignment may reduce off-task behaviors
- Time-permitting, you can have a discussion about the relative importance of each need in Maslow’s hierarchy and whether such a hierarchy even exists
Applied Strategies
Published: 24/01/2024
Copyright: © 2025 Salonine. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication on this website is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.