Understanding Independence with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Today is India's 73rd Independence day. It was 73 years ago we got our freedom from external rulers, ability to set rules and govern ourselves and we got the liberty to move around as who we were in our own country without fear.

This got me thinking, what does independence mean in today's world where we spend so much time at work. What really is Independence, what does it mean and stand for?

Combining this with the framework of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, makes this a little easy to understand.

At the Physiological needs level it means ability to stay or work where you like, eat or drink as you you may like etc. This independence allows us to move around and get comfortable and not feel stuck at any place, we see people migrating to places where they can earn a comfortable income to cover their needs. It is important that this sense of independence should not cause any imbalance to nature or people around us. 

At the Safety needs level it means you define your own rules to manage your life and work and stay where you like. This independence enables us to define our standard of living and work towards it. It is important to note that while each individual has their sense of independence - what works for one may actually interfere with another's view of safety/ environment. 

At the Love and Belonging Level it means you value collaboration, alignment at work and any other things that reduce conflict and not having a micro management style at work. This independence enables people to want to come to work and not feel it as a chore. This level of independence allows people of different cultures and nationalities sometimes traveling long distances to work together in an unbiased way.

At the Esteem Level it means you value achievement, freedom to do work within minimal guidelines and there is a good way to recognize people and can go about your work with confidence. This independence enables us to go back at the end of the day with a sense of satisfaction. This level of independence is what takes organizations forward as it enables each individual to continuously challenge themselves to give their best each and every time.

At the final Self Actualization level it means you are looking for a deeper meaning in what you do, you value innovation, creativity and there is openness in the culture for reviewing and accepting new ideas. This independence enables us to strive to make a difference every single day and the confidence shows in the body language. This level of independence is what ensures that someone may spend uncounted hours working on solutions while others at lower levels of the hierarchy only count hours.

We may some time find people moving out of jobs because say an office doesn't look very modern but others continue to enjoy the work as their needs are being met. This can be interpreted as the people being on different levels of the hierarchy.

We see quite a few times people being insecure at their own lower levels and unduly trying to influence others to adhere to their viewpoints. It is a case of imposing your view on independence on someone else at a different upward level and doesn't work many times.

It is best to be observant and let us not get influenced as we are all on this journey and at different levels.

On this independence day, wish you the very best on your own unique journey upwards in this pyramid!