Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) President Jason McConnell and School of Business Dean Kelsey Metz have published a new research article examining how Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs applies to employees working in traditional, remote, and hybrid environments.
The article, titled “Investigating the Progression of Maslow’s Needs Among Traditional, Remote, and Hybrid-Setting Employees,” appears in the latest edition of the Society for Advanced Management Journal. The study explores whether the relationships between levels of Maslow’s hierarchy—physiological, safety-security, belongingness, esteem, and self-actualization—vary across different work settings.
Using validated scales and advanced statistical modeling, McConnell and Metz analyzed survey responses from employees across all three work environments concerning their perceived fulfillment of each of Maslow’s five defined humanistic needs. Their previous research revealed that hybrid-setting employees reported statistically greater fulfillment across all five needs—physiological, safety-security, belongingness, esteem, and self-actualization—when compared to those in traditional and remote settings.
Building upon those findings, the current study examined whether the relationships between the needs themselves differ across work settings. The results indicate that while prior studies have identified variations in the degree to which individual needs are fulfilled depending on the work environment, employees’ ability to progress toward self-actualization through the sequential advancement of needs is not influenced by work setting. This finding reinforces the stability of Maslow’s hierarchical framework of motivation, demonstrating that the pathway toward self-actualization remains consistent regardless of workplace format or flexibility.
“This study provides empirical support for the enduring structure of Maslow’s hierarchy across modern work environments, demonstrating that the progression toward self-actualization is unaffected by the physical work environment,” Metz said.
McConnell added that the research builds on earlier work the pair published in 2024 and contributes to the broader conversation on employee well-being in flexible work models.
“This work helps clarify what changes and what stays the same when organizations shift toward remote or hybrid models,” McConnell said.
The full article is available through the SAM Advanced Management Journal:
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