Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

The work of Abraham Maslow offers us a model for wholeness and well being that finally can be realized in the emerging world of work. The list of characteristics that follows might fit every employer’s profile of the “ideal candidate” or serve as a working goal for a highly motivated individual.

• They are realistically oriented.
• They accept themselves, other people and the natural world.
• They have a great deal of spontaneity.
• They are problem-centered rather than self-centered.
• They have an air of detachment and a need for privacy.
• They are autonomous and independent.
• Their appreciation of people and events is fresh rather than stereotyped.
• Most had profound mystical or spiritual experiences (not necessarily religious)
• They identify with mankind
• Intimate relationships with a few specially loved people tend to be profound
• Their values and attitudes are democratic.
• They do not confuse means with ends.
• Their sense of humor is philosophical rather than hostile.
• They have a great fund of creativeness.
• They resist conformity to the culture, and
• They transcend the environment rather than just coping with it.