According to Abraham Maslow's well-known pyramid, every person is motivated by needs that build on each other. The basic needs have to be met first; after that there is room for the higher ones. The higher up the pyramid, the harder those needs are to meet. You can also use that idea to look at employee engagement. Curious how? Read on!
What does Maslow's pyramid look like again?
Maslow's pyramid has five levels. From bottom to top:
- Physiological needs: food, drink, sleep and a roof over your head.
- Safety: security, protection and stability.
- Social needs: belonging, contact and friendship.
- Esteem: appreciation and respect from others, and self-confidence.
- Self-actualisation: growing and getting the best out of yourself.
According to the theory, you climb from the bottom to the top and cannot skip a level. Once you are at the top, the basics are well taken care of and there is room for personal development.
What is the engagement pyramid?
If you translate the pyramid to work, money and job security are at the bottom. For almost everyone, that is the first reason to go to work. You need money to meet your basic needs, and job security to keep it that way.
For many people, it stops there. They are satisfied, but not engaged. They work to earn a living, do what is asked of them and nothing more. They are no threat to an organisation, but they don't move it forward either. Also read why satisfied is not the same as engaged.
For others, money and security are nice, but not the reason they go to work with pleasure every day. They want more, and that is not about money but about intangible value: belonging, being appreciated, being able to grow and above all the feeling that what you do matters. They look for satisfaction in a higher goal, alone or together with others. These people are at the top of the pyramid. They are engaged, talk enthusiastically about the organisation and inspire others.
How engaged are Dutch employees?
Research firm Gallup divides employees into three groups: engaged, not engaged and actively disengaged. That last group is visibly unhappy and can seriously drag down the atmosphere in a team. Over the years 2023 to 2025, the picture in the Netherlands was as follows:
- 14% are engaged;
- 74% are not engaged;
- 12% are actively disengaged.
Source: Gallup, Netherlands. That puts the Netherlands slightly above the European average of 12% engaged employees (Gallup, regional data). Even so, more than eight out of ten employees get no further than the bottom layers of the pyramid. So there is a big opportunity there!
Is Maslow's pyramid actually right?
The pyramid is a handy image, but not a law. As early as 1976, researchers Mahmoud Wahba and Lawrence Bridwell reviewed the available studies. They found little clear or consistent evidence that people really work through their needs in this fixed order. Wahba & Bridwell
So with the engagement pyramid, too, you can see the levels more loosely. Someone can fall back when their engagement drops, for example because of a reorganisation or a new manager. And what people find most important differs from person to person and from one stage of life to the next. In practice, the levels overlap.
A more modern view comes from the self-determination theory of Edward Deci and Richard Ryan. According to them, every person has three basic needs that all play a role at the same time: autonomy, competence and relatedness. The better a working environment meets them, the higher the motivation and engagement. Self-Determination Theory
How do you help employees higher up the pyramid?
Even so, engaged employees are a real asset to an organisation. It is no coincidence that more and more organisations are focusing on this. What can you do as a manager?
- Get the basics right. A fair salary, clear agreements and security where possible. Without that foundation, the rest won't get off the ground.
- Build relatedness. Make sure people feel part of the team and that there is room for contact, also when you work hybrid.
- Show appreciation. According to Gallup, employees who feel sufficiently recognised are four times as likely to be engaged. Gallup
- Give room to grow. Offer challenge, responsibility and development opportunities.
- Make the higher goal visible. Show what someone's work contributes to. Also read purpose gives your work value.
You will find more ideas in how do I increase employee engagement?
Are your employees already at the top of the engagement pyramid? You don't have to guess: you can measure it with the Employee Engagement Survey.
