ERG theory was put forward by the American psychologist Clayton Alderfer to explain human psychological needs. Like Maslow's hierarchy of needs, ERG theory likewise sorts human needs into several levels. You might ask: if the hierarchy of needs already discusses human needs so thoroughly, what does ERG theory have to add? Compared with the hierarchy of needs, ERG theory not only has more empirical support but is also a better fit for the corporate or team setting in practice. Let's look together at how we can use psychological theory to understand people's psychological needs, and from there bring motivation to a team.
What is ERG theory?
According to ERG theory, human needs can be sorted into three levels: existence needs, relatedness needs and growth needs. ERG theory stresses that people do not focus on the pursuit of just one area; instead they look at the same time for ways to satisfy existence, relatedness and growth.
Existence needs are the most basic needs, covering food, water, safety and other resources tied to human survival — in terms of Maslow's pyramid of needs, these correspond to the physiological needs and the safety needs. Relatedness needs are the needs to interact with others, to gain support from relationships and to be respected, similar in concept to Maslow's social needs and esteem needs. Growth needs, finally, are the needs to build self-confidence and self-worth through personal growth and development, encompassing both Maslow's esteem needs and self-actualisation needs.
The biggest difference between ERG theory and the hierarchy of needs is not in how the needs are categorised, but in the relationship between the needs and the process by which people satisfy them. ERG theory has three processes: satisfaction-progression, frustration-regression and satisfaction-strengthening.
Satisfaction-progression
Satisfaction-progression refers to how a person must first "satisfy" a more basic level of needs before they can "progress" to a higher level of needs. In the hierarchy of needs, Maslow placed great emphasis on the "satisfaction-progression" process, holding that once a person satisfies the needs of a lower level, their attention will automatically shift to a higher pursuit of value. In ERG theory, however, satisfaction-progression is not an inevitable process; ERG places more weight on the two processes of frustration-regression and satisfaction-strengthening, and no longer frames human pursuit as a linear progression.
Frustration-regression
In Maslow's theory, if a person is unable to satisfy the needs of a given level, their pursuit will stall at that level. ERG theory, by contrast, points out that if a person meets "frustration" while trying to satisfy a need, they will give up the need in that category and instead "regress" to a lower-level pursuit. When employees feel that their work fails to bring them a sense of recognition and holds no meaning for them as individuals (an inability to satisfy growth needs), they will demand a higher salary, or put more of their time into building relationships with colleagues — shifting from pursuing personal growth to pursuing a more ideal living environment or interpersonal relationships.
Satisfaction-strengthening
In Maslow's hierarchy of needs, reaching self-actualisation is more or less the endpoint of life, with nothing more to drive on a person who has already realised themselves. ERG theory holds that once a need has been "satisfied", that need will be "strengthened". When an employee finds that their work lets them challenge themselves, and that the process gives them a sense of fulfilment (satisfying their growth needs), that employee's growth needs will not diminish but grow — and they will instead hope to keep finding places in the work where they can challenge themselves.
Applying ERG within a team
For each of the three categories of needs in ERG, managers can offer employees different kinds of support. Existence needs can be met through salary, benefits and a safe working environment; relatedness needs can be met through interaction within the team, or by giving employees time outside work to spend with family and friends; growth needs, meanwhile, require the work itself to offer challenge, autonomy or room to create, so that employees can feel a sense of growth or of putting their value into practice.
ERG theory strongly emphasises that all three levels of needs are important. If, when motivating employees, you concentrate purely on one area, you will obstruct employees' overall development — on the one hand lowering their sense of satisfaction at work, and on the other potentially leaving them short of motivation and weakening their competitiveness. For that reason, when motivating employees you should attend to all three directions at once, bringing employees the greatest motivation from the fewest resources.
In the most ideal situation, an employee's growth needs are continually satisfied and then strengthened, enabling them to make the greatest contribution to the team from a fresh, creative angle over a long period — which holds true for the company's development, and just as true for the employee's mental health. Managers should avoid the occurrence of frustration-regression: recognising that a problem exists before an employee gives up their growth needs, and offering support (for example, adjusting the content of the work). Managers can also proactively provide opportunities for employees to grow, bringing employees more motivation at work.
TreeholeHK is dedicated to providing professional training for companies of all sizes. Guided by our principle of "insight into the future, effort in the present", we turn psychological knowledge into practical techniques that help your team get things done, grow and succeed. If you would like to know how to use psychology for corporate training, you are welcome to get in touch with TreeholeHK.
Comments
No comments yet — share your thoughts.