many young professionals find that they are unfulfilled in work they find it frustrating they're unmotivated if you feel like this you're not alone fortunately there are several theories that explain motivation in the workplace and it can be really useful to understand these theories so you can gain some insights into your own motivation and how you can help motivate others so in this video let's take a look at four key theories on motivation let's look at Maslow's hierarchy of needs first according to Maslow he believed that there's a set of basic needs that need to be fulfilled before we can then look at higher level needs the bottom needs a physiological needs such as food and water and shelter next up are safety needs such as job security and protection from harm then comes social needs such as love and belongingness after that our esteem needs which include recognition and respect from others finally at the top of the pyramid there's self-actualization which involves personal growth and fulfillment and once all the needs have been met then people can actually achieve their full potential next up is hertzberg's two-factor Theory according to Herzberg there are two factors that influence motivation so hygiene factors and motivators hygiene factors are basic job conditions that must be met for people to be satisfied with their work such as pay working conditions and job security these factors are not met people will be dissatisfied motivators on the other hand are factors that contribute to job satisfaction and motivation such as recognition growth opportunities and achievements according to Herzberg if organizations really want to motivate their people they can't just look at the basic needs they have to look at motivators as well third we have mcclellan's three needs theory according to McClelland people have three basic needs that influence their motivation the need for achievement the need for affiliation and the need for power McClellan believed that people have varying levels of these needs and that organizations should try to match jobs with employees who have the appropriate needs in order to maximize motivation and job satisfaction finally let's talk about McGregor's Theory X and why according to McGregor there are two basic assumptions that managers can make about their employees Theory X which assumes that employees are inherently lazy and they need to be coerced and controlled if they're to achieve anything and Theory why which assumes that employees are inherently motivated and will work hard if they're given the opportunity McGregor believed that managers who adopt a Theory Y approach are much more successful at motivating their employees because they will create an environment that Fosters motivation and engagement so there you have four different theories that explain motivation in the workplace but remember they are just theories everybody is unique it's much more important to get to know your people understand what drives them and what makes them tick how do you motivate yourself or how do you motivate your people let me know in the comments below and thanks for watching