MEET THE PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS OF YOUR PEOPLE

Companies often focus on meeting the psychological needs of middle and top-level employees while ignoring those of the lower-level employees. However, with The Great Resignation movement ongoing, organizations need to expand their focus. They should strive to meet the psychological needs of their entire workforce, irrespective of the level of the employee. 

There is a direct correlation between the psychological satisfaction of the employee and an increase in employee productivity, engagement, and loyalty.

As per Maslow's famous Hierarchy of Needs, psychological needs gain importance only after fulfilling the employees' basic needs. However, in today's reality, employees' basic and psychological needs exist in parallel. Hence, an organization needs to shift its mindset from the traditional theory.

According to McKinsey's research, addressing the psychological needs of the lower-level employees in an organization makes economic sense for an organization. 

High work psychological safety can result in a 76% increase in engagement, 50% more productivity, and 57% better collaboration, as per Accenture. Leaders in organizations should potentially follow a structured path to ensure they achieve this goal. 

The top management of an organization can follow the following steps to meet the psychological needs of lower-level workers:

Appreciate the work of people at all levels in the organization. It will help increase the psychological safety level among workers.

Recognize that the circumstances workers face at various levels and teams are different. It will help position the leader as empathetic and considerate. 

Understand how the psychological needs are currently being met. It will provide the right foundation for the future roadmap.

Create initiatives, projects, and activities to make the job more satisfying and purposeful. It should be open to all levels and not just senior and middle management. 

Monitor and evaluate results. Ensuring psychological safety among workers is a continuous process. The leaders should focus on evolving this process to achieve better results. 

Often, the best suggestions for making the job more satisfying and purposeful will come from the employees. As a result, taking employees' feedback before announcing new initiatives is a good idea. You can start by asking your team about their expectations and taking the strategy forward. 

As there are several direct and indirect benefits for businesses by driving this change, the strategy should be prepared to keep the psychological needs of the entire team in mind. The long-term benefits of meeting the psychological needs of lower-level employees can be noticed through increased productivity, reduced attrition rate, and high engagement. 

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