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square bulletFrom Survival to Well-being at Work (and Maslow Too!)

Person receiving award at work

From , MS LPC, Assistant Professor of Practice, Trauma Informed Oregon

Thinking about work and well-being, I remembered something I learned of years ago: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow said we move through a hierarchy of needs from basic survival to higher goals like social connection, esteem, and self-actualization. Without meeting our basic survival needs first, we can’t thrive or move forward to reach the full potential found in the higher level goals.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and the Workplace

There is a similar connection between work and well-being. All of the needs mentioned in Maslow’s theory are intertwined with the motivations for why we go to work each day. Usually, it’s about survival first, and then progresses towards higher-level goals for working such as financial security, personal fulfillment, professional growth, and contributing to something greater than ourselves.

Although we don’t generally discuss these obvious realities of our relationship with work, we need to have more conversation and acknowledgement about the interconnection between work and basic survival.

  • Work finances food and water, ensuring our basic nutritional needs are met.
  • Work provides the means for us to afford clothing and personal hygiene products, maintaining our cleanliness and well-being.
  • Work enables us to secure shelter and potentially move to safer neighborhoods and environments, ensuring our physical safety and security.
  • Work supports our social needs, allowing us to maintain family units and contribute to the well-being of our loved ones.
  • Work finances our comforts and needs in our elder years as we transition out of the workforce, providing security and dignity.
  • Work also serves as a buffer, providing opportunities to rest, rejuvenate, and pursue our greatest goals, offering hope for the future.

Moving From Survival to Thriving in the Workplace

The significance of this work-survival connection necessitates recognition of the impact of toxic stress and the need for trauma-informed workplaces. Let’s say the obvious-but-critically-serious part out loud: it’s about survival! Survival is a core motive for our work, yet some workplaces are toxic. A toxic environment jeopardizes our basic survival needs, notably our employment or ability to work, triggering a constant threat. This proves especially challenging for those who grew up significantly impoverished, experiencing food insecurity, houselessness, or historic and systemic oppression.

Consider individuals of color and culture striving for higher levels of thriving as in Maslow’s higher-level needs. Despite significant achievements in education or experience, they often encounter discrimination, hindering satisfaction through work (Lussier, 2019). In subsequent articles, we’ll unpack this and explore these more nuanced challenges in greater depth.

Trauma-informed workforce wellness (TI WW) provides a practical approach to understanding and addressing the impact of toxic stress on employees physically, psychologically, and otherwise. It involves developing programs and practices to minimize these negative effects. For instance, TI WW prioritizes creating safe and supportive environments that help create a culture of empathy and understanding.

While TI WW may not completely eliminate employment insecurities, it offers a pathway for organizations to rethink their physical environment, employee interactions, and even transition processes as they exit the workplace. Collectively, these considerations encompass Maslow’s higher-level needs of social connection, esteem, and self-actualization.

TI WW can include programs that promote professional development, encourage employee recognition, and support deep listening to understand employees’ needs and aspirations. Ultimately, TI WW aims to create healthier, safer, and less toxic workspaces where individuals are supported in navigating their journey from lower- to higher-level needs in life.

References

Lussier, K. (2019). Of Maslow, motives, and managers: The hierarchy of needs in American business, 1960–1985. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 55(4), 319–341. https://doi.org/10.1002/jhbs.21992

Trauma Informed Oregon. (2023).  Workforce wellbeing: A trauma informed framework.