At the first level, basic needs are those of food, water, warmth and shelter with wages that meet those needs. Safety needs include protection from danger, for example health and safety at work as well as job security. Social needs include a sense of belonging in workteams.
He identified esteem needs as those of self-confidence,feeling useful and needed by other people. Maslow proposed that
having satisfied all the lower needs an individual would then be able to realise their own potential for self-development.
Although Maslow’s theory has been widely criticised, because he believed that one set of needs had to be satisfied before moving on to the next, it has nonetheless contributed to the understanding of motivation in the workplace.
Involving and listening to employees views is essential in creating a sense of belonging to the company.
Using its annual employee engagement survey, Virgin Media values have been developed with employee input.
Each year, an employee opinion survey asksall employees to answer questions from categories such as training, development and career, strategy and way of working.
In this way everyone at Virgin Media is able to contribute to making the company a place in which they all love to work. The company has seen year on year improvement with the 2012 results showing 82% of Virgin Media’s workforce is engaged.