Case: Facebook Knows How to Motivate Employees Facebook, which was created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, is a social networking site that allowed users to connect and share with friends and family, find communities and grow businesses online (Facebook, n.d.) Facebook creates a virtual space similar to a real community which became the first social media platform to reach billion registered users and has over 3.1 billion monthly active accounts in the second quarter of 2020 (Tankovska, 2021) Moreover, Facebook has been ranked as the second-best company to work for in America under the leadership of Mark Zuckerberg who was awarded a 99.3 percent approval rating by nearly 19,000 Facebook employees (Ferrell et al, 2019) Following these resounding successes, it is reasonable to conclude that Facebook workers are well-motivated to complete their works at the highest level of productivity It is difficult for businesses to have the capabilities of devising effective workforce motivation policies, however, Zuckerberg did a fantastic job with this Based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the effectiveness of Facebook’s policies is revealed, as well as demonstrating the leadership's excellent management knowledge and talent Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory in psychology comprising a five-tier model of human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid (McLeod, 2020) It includes five basic needs: physiological, security, social, esteem, and self-actualization (Maslow, 2013) In this case of the Facebook organization, the corporation applies all five of the aforementioned elements of its workforce policies: Firstly, the physiological need is the most basic human need that should be satisfied such as water, food, shelter, and clothing (Maslow, 2013) Basic needs are the necessities and utilities that people have to pay for in order to live To address the needs of its employees, Facebook offers income or benefits that are relevant to or more than enough to cover each employee's cost of living According to Gillett (2017), the average annual base salary at Facebook is $120,000 while the average total compensation comes in around $155,000 It is ranked 7th among the highest paying companies in the world Moreover, Facebook also considers employee’s financial peace of mind by giving some policies such as a competitive retirement plan or on-site or video tax consultations (Facebook, n.d.) and satisfy them as much as possible through provides employee benefits including free lunches, laundry services, shuttle buses, flexible work hours, and the ability to work at home when needed (Ferrell et al, 2019) Secondly, the security need is the need to protect oneself from physical and economic harm (Maslow, 2013) According to Maslow (2013), employees only devote their full attention to their jobs while they feel safe and comfortable Facebook has provided some policies related to safety reasons, especially the policies of health and wellness such as medical, dental, vision insurance, life insurance, and survivor support or wellness reimbursement (Facebook, n.d.) Thirdly, the social need is the need for love, companionship, and friendship as well as the desire for acceptance by others (Maslow, 2013) It is not always convenient for people to build and maintain relationships at work, particularly in a tech company like Facebook This is because many introverts prefer being alone and self-contained than interacting with others If people not feel a sense of belongings, they may not feel engaged at work or motivated to succeed (Indeed.com, 2020) For that reason, Facebook has built its headquarters like a small city where they can get everything they want without having to leave their “home” (Spence, 2016) In this “home”, Facebook employees could know and discover another, which brings the ability to construct and consolidate the relationship at work Besides, when Facebook designed their company as “home”, their employees are given flexibility and freedom Similar to how people work from home, Facebook’s employees are allowed to move wherever and whenever they want to work (Wood, 2018) Facebook is also working to create a culture of support and to help people communicate better with each other They are encouraging their staff to have conversations, and ask if they have considered any more ideas (Harrington, n.d.) Fourthly, the esteem need is the need for respect: both self-respect and respect from others (Maslow, 2013) Facebook is a great example of an expression of respect It has a tradition of appreciation that can be seen in every corner of the organization, from the highest-ranking executives to the lowest-ranking employees; everyone respects one another Zuckerberg shows respect for his employees by measuring the quality of their work, not by paying attention to the way they dress or decorate their desks (Kux, n.d.) He also removes the barriers between executives and other employees due to the fact that he is well-known to meet with entry-level employees to hear their ideas (Ferrell et al, 2019) Moreover, Facebook demonstrates how much they value their workforce by giving them the ability to choose the team where they believe they will have the most meaningful impact, and in part on organizational needs Facebook’s employees also were often handled well by the management, making them feel like they had a position at the firm (Harrington, n.d.) Finally, self-actualization is the need to be the best one can be (Maslow, 2013) At this top of Maslow’s hierarchy, it maximizes an individual’s potential at work A self-actualized employee feels empowered and trusted, which encourages growth and engagement (indeed.com, 2020) Facebook met this need and chose it as a key to success by focusing on an individual’s strengths, rather than fixing his or her weaknesses (Ferrell et al, 2019) At Facebook, employees are encouraged to take risks and stay innovative without being punished if their testing leads to mistakes (Harrington, n.d.) Facebook lets people design their own roles, rather than "force-fitting them into pre-existing ones" (Murphy, 2015) The simultaneous fulfillment of all five needs of Maslow’s hierarchy proves that Facebook has developed and implemented a set of reasonable policies to improve their employee’s satisfaction Facebook also focuses on pushing motivation in the company workforce Motivation is the process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented behaviors (Cherry, K., 2020) Motivational factors - aspects of Herzberg’s theory of motivation that focus on the content of the work itself, included achievement, recognition, involvement, responsibility, and advancement Basically, Herzberg’s motivational factors and Maslow’s esteem and selfactualization needs are similar (Ferrell et al, 2019) While satisfying Maslow’s hierarchy, Facebook also meets the need of their employee’s satisfaction in five motivational factors above In addition to using Maslow’s hierarchy, the Facebook company also adapts other management strategies, especially the theory of motivation developed by the social psychologist Douglas McGregor According to McGregor (2016), there are two styles of management - authoritarian (Theory X) and participative (Theory Y) Theory X relies on the authoritarian style of management, where the managers are required to give instructions and keep a close check on each employee On the other hand, theory Y relies on the participative style of management, where the managers assume that the employees are self-directed and self-motivated to accomplish the organizational objectives (businessjargons.com, n.d.) Referring to Facebook's case, it could be proposed that Theory Y has been applied in its workplace Theory Y managers have an optimistic, positive opinion of their people, and they use a decentralized, participative management style (mindtools.com, 2018) At Facebook, employees are able to act in creative ways outside the confines of bureaucracy and tradition that exist at many other larger companies (Kux, n.d.) The company also created a job that provides autonomy, allows employees to use their strengths, and promotes learning and development (Harrington, n.d.) Using theory Y instead of X on the Facebook workplace can be seen as a wise decision Facebook was founded based on a technology foundation so that they are forced to face up with the strong competition in the digital technology market This requires the company to constantly be innovative and creative to keep up with the trend and demands of the market The restrictive nature of Theory X could cause people to become demotivated, noncooperative, and reduce the creativity of the workforce (mindtools.com, 2018) If Facebook decides to theory X, the firm will lose its competitive edge and will be forced out of the business However, when Facebook applies Theory Y in their workplace, the leaders should take into consideration that their employees may not always focus on their goals and objectives (mindtools.com, 2018) As they are given freedom in their work, some individuals may get distracted from the external environment Therefore, their performance and the final result may not be optimized References: businessjargon.com (n.d.) 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