Meet the psychological needs of your people – all your people
Article

Meet the psychological needs of your people – all your people

Tera Allas and Brooke Weddle
McKinsey, 2022
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What motivates employees to stay with a company? According to an international survey of 50,000 workers, the majority of them, even those in the lowest-paid positions, value psychologically satisfying work more than high income. Thus, McKinsey researchers Tera Allas and Brooke Weddle prompt companies to go beyond improving pay and benefits, and to start satisfying the psychological needs of all employees – not just those at the top. Meeting these needs will lead to higher profitability and productivity, as well as improved employee retention and recruitment.

Summary

Many companies only address the psychological needs of their higher-earning workers.

An international survey of nearly 50,000 people showed that 84% of workers across all occupations and income levels find “an interesting job” more important than “high income.” Another 2015 survey of 16,000 people worldwide supports this data by indicating that interpersonal relationships and having engaging work are the two most important factors for job satisfaction.

Data suggests that many companies tend to do a better job meeting the psychological needs of higher-earning employees than of those working in lower-paying or lower-skilled positions. Research shows this is not necessarily due to the specific nature of certain positions, as people in the most-routine...

About the Authors

Tera Allas is the director of research and economics at McKinsey & Company. Brooke Weddle is a partner at McKinsey & Company.

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