Guest Post By Danny Schofield, Managing Director, Expert Security UK

It’s been several decades now since Abraham Maslow’s theory entered the psychology field – the theory that every human being’s motivation is driven by a five-stage hierarchy of needs. The working world has drastically changed since then, and even more so within the last 12 months.

So, is it time to introduce a new hierarchy of needs – one that relates to today’s working life, the 21st century, and this ‘new normal’?

The stages in Maslow’s original hierarchy consisted of (in order, from bottom to top): physiological, safety, love / belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. The idea was that needs lower down in the hierarchy needed to be satisfied before attending to the next stage of needs higher up.

A quick recap of the five stages of human needs (according to Maslow):

  1. Physiological: This covered our most primal and basic needs like food, water, sleep, etc.

  2. Safety: Next was focused on our safety which covers our health, shelter, and financial stability.

  3. Love / belonging: Once we’re satisfied with the first two stages, we then look for belonging in our lives through relationships, connections, friendships and intimacy.

  4. Esteem: Then we work on self-growth and esteem through status, respect, and recognition.

  5. Self-actualization: The final stage of the hierarchy pyramid relates to self-fulfillment, which Maslow says is different for each person.

The New Hierarchy of Needs for Working from Home in 2021

As more and more of us have had to replace face-to-face meetings in offices with Zoom calls, or office desks with kitchen tables, the work dynamic has changed, and this means our needs have too. Whilst our needs for career success and working equipment haven’t changed too much, the needs for the way we work, communicate and be productive have.

Cut to 2021, with a continued, pandemic-stricken world, and with many businesses in work-from-home mode, we think there is a new hierarchy of needs to be considered:

  1. Working equipment: To get on with a job, you need everything running smoothly. That means no internet disruptions, software crashes or faulty equipment – the basics to be able to do the day-to-day tasks.

  2. Security: We all need to feel safe and secure no matter where we are when we do our business. This means having our homes, premises and perimeters protected efficiently with things like electric gates, driveway security bollards and CCTV, etc.

  3. Safety and hygiene: If 2020 showed us anything, it’s that we should never be complacent when it comes to hygiene and workplace health and safety. Businesses need to update health and safety policies that reflect best hygiene and social distancing practices to keep viruses and germs at bay. And when you’re working from home, don’t let good hygiene standards slip, wash hands regularly and keep hand sanitisers around.

  4. Team culture: Once you’ve got the basics covered, it’s time to turn your attention to people. We all need good rapport and some in-house jokes and with many working from home, it’s even more important to keep that culture alive with good digital communication – the odd meme sent over the wires goes a long way!

  5. Career success: The ultimate goal and job satisfaction is achieving a position we’ve worked hard for and being rewarded for it. With this, we are motivated by good personal and professional development. We need to feel valued and always be looking ahead to see how we can grow and develop.

Danny Schofield is Managing Director at Expert Security UK