Employee motivation in the Irish financial sector: how Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs can help to explain this phenomenon – A case study of Bank of Ireland

Barnes, Andrew (2021) Employee motivation in the Irish financial sector: how Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs can help to explain this phenomenon – A case study of Bank of Ireland. Masters thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to measure how effectively Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs could be used to measure and analyse employee motivation in the Irish financial sector, using Bank of Ireland employees as participants in a case study. Consideration was given to the methodology of similar studies and a questionnaire was devised. The questionnaire contained fixed statements that corresponded with the needs that Maslow outlined in his hierarchy – asking participants to rate their satisfaction-level of statements relating to these needs on a five-point scale that ranged from ‘Completely Unsatisfied’ to ‘Completely Satisfied’. The questionnaire aimed to assess the satisfaction level of each individual need, the difference between the mean satisfaction levels of each need, and whether, as Maslow predicted, individuals’ needs are less satisfied as the hierarchy ascends. The results of the study showed that, as Maslow suggested, respondents were satisfied with basic needs and unsatisfied with complex needs. Participants were completely satisfied with the most basic need: ‘physiological needs’ satisfied with ‘safety’ and ‘social’ needs, neither satisfied or unsatisfied with ‘esteem’ needs, and ‘unsatisfied’ with ‘self-actualization’ needs. The results of this study show that the needs of individuals working in financial services in Ireland are fulfilled at a basic level, but that these individuals feel somewhat unconnected to their colleagues, unsatisfied and insignificant within their current roles – and unconfident in their long-term financial security. As a case study, this dissertation is somewhat limited. A similar study undertaken on a wider scale could yield important data that could prove to be most crucial in better understanding employee motivation in the Irish financial services industry by surveying a larger group of individuals across a multitude of companies within the sector.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HG Finance > Financial Services D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain > Ireland H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management > Human Resource Management > Performance Management > Motivation
Divisions:	School of Business > Master of Arts in Human Resource Management
Depositing User:	Clara Chan
Date Deposited:	15 Dec 2021 15:23
Last Modified:	15 Dec 2021 15:23
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/5240

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