Essay: Work Dehumanising vs. Fulfilling - Leadership Perspective

This essay delves into the debate of whether work can be dehumanising rather than fulfilling, exploring the dynamics within the modern workplace. It examines the prevalence of dehumanising behaviours and attitudes, often employed by businesses to maximize employee performance. The essay analyses the applicability of Maslow's hierarchy of needs in this context, arguing that the pressure to meet targets can lead to a neglect of employees' broader needs, potentially resulting in dehumanisation. It differentiates between animalistic and mechanistic dehumanisation, with a focus on the latter's presence in interpersonal interactions. The essay also contrasts dehumanising work with fulfilling work, which fosters creativity and respects employee rights. Using Maslow's hierarchy, the essay analyses how needs such as physiological, safety, social, esteem and self-actualization can be met or unmet in the workplace. The paper concludes that while dehumanising work might achieve short-term objectives, it ultimately diminishes employee engagement and creativity, advocating for a shift towards fulfilling work environments.

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Name of the Student:
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Author’s Note

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‘Work can be dehumanising rather than fulfilling’ is the topic which will be analysed in
this paper. Dehumanising behaviour and attitude are common in the workplace. Several business
organisations use this strategy to push the subordinate employee to deliver their best
performance. To accomplish the individual target and organisation target, the leader of an
organisation uses this method (van der Walt 2018). In today’s work environment, most of the
employee has to do a target-oriented job. So the question is whether work can be dehumanising
instead of fulfilling or not. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory can be appropriate to explain this
issue.
To survive in the competitive workplace, an employee has to provide his best
performance to achieve the individual target. So it can be said that the character of the employee
has to fulfil work and responsibilities, given to him by the manager. In the workplace, work can
be dehumanising. According to Haslam, two types of dehumanisation are present, which are
animalistic dehumanisation and mechanistic dehumanisation (Haslam 2006). Based on ethnicity,
race, and colour, animalistic dehumanisation is done. In this type of dehumanisation, the
characteristic of the human being is denied which differ him from the animal. Self-control, the
rationality of human being are denied in this type of dehumanisation (Haslam 2006). On the
other hand, mechanistic dehumanisation is common in the workplace. It can happen in
interpersonal interaction in the workplace. Subtle disrespect, sexual objection, harassment,
condescension, bullying, social ostracism, and others are common in interpersonal interaction in
the workplace. On the other hand, fulfilling work can deliver satisfaction to the employee. It can
boost the creativity of the employee. The freedom of the employee is respected. The right of the
employee is protected. It can help a business organisation to develop a happy workforce (Gröpel

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and Kuhl 2009). It can deliver the desired outcome. As employees are happy, motivated and
engaged.
To explain, this issue Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory can be useful. The needs
theory given by Abraham Maslow is one of the most useful ones. There are five basic needs that
a person must fulfil to find motivation. They are as follows: physiological need, safety, social,
esteem and self-actualization (Upadhyaya 2014). These things will help in creating internal
pressure thereby showing an influence in people’s attitudes.
Needs like fresh air for breathing, food, water, shelter, clothing and sleep which are
essential for human survival are called physiological needs. A manager should take the complete
responsibility of providing his or her employees with an adequate supply of the above-mentioned
things. Only then can he/she ensure a proper working condition (Soni and Soni 2016).
Things that provide a person with a sense of security and well-being are included under
safety needs. Security may range from personal to financial to protection against an accident.
Providing employees with safe working conditions, especially for the female employees,
providing them with compensation and assuring them with job security is very essential on a
manager’s part (Soni and Soni 2016).
The employee also needs to feel a certain amount of love and acceptance. This comes
under the need called social needs. This is a very important need as an absence of this will make
the employee feel isolated and abandoned, especially in case of those workers who are away
from their native land. Elements like friendship, family and intimacy are all counted under this
need (Ozguner and Ozguner 2014). As a manager one needs to ensure that every employee has a
balanced work and social life. A misbalance in the two may lead to poor production as well. To

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ensure that employees do not feel left alone the manager must take steps to encourage and
promote teamwork, which in turn will help the employees know one another, thereby increasing
social bond.
An employee also needs to feel respected. Along with having a sense of self-esteem,
he/she should also feel the essence of desire. Nonetheless, self-esteem should take the upper
hand. Thus it becomes very essential on the manager’s part to praise and appreciate an employee
whenever he/she does something good (Upadhyaya 2014). This will keep the employee
motivated and create an urge to do well. At times promotion might also be offered, when it is
visible that the employee has been working hard. This will make them feel valued and belief in
the company.
Being able to reach one's full potential is known as self-actualization need. It is a very
personal desire and differs from person to person. On the one hand, while one might desire and
dream of becoming a perfect homemaker, on the other hand, someone else might want to achieve
the highest point in their workspace. Although this need is very personal, a manager might still
take steps to nurture these needs (Soni and Soni 2016). Identifying the desire and accordingly
providing them with challenging tasks, involving them in decision-making groups, providing
them with flexible working hours and similar other attempts might prove fruitful.
This issue can be critically evaluated by management and leadership theory. A person
works in a multinational company. The psychological needs of that person are fulfilled by the
job. Other needs as a human being are not fulfilled by the job. To meet the target, he has to spend
most of the time. The needs of the employee are job security, recognition, increase in salary, job
title, and a stable work environment (Al-Amoudi 2018). Besides these needs, other needs are the
time for relaxation, time for family, time for daily activities, acceptance, time to cherish passion

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and creativity (Nicolaides 2018). However, to meet the target of the company, he is unable to
fulfil other needs. So it can be said that in this scenario. The management of the company
follows transactional leadership. In this leadership, by meeting the target the employee gets extra
rewards. In case, that employee fails to meet target he has to receive punishment (Hamstra et al.
2014). However, it can be said that the needs of that person are not fulfilled. So it can be said
that in this scenario, the work is dehumanised rather than fulfilling. Instead of fulfilling other
needs, that employee is busy to meet the target and save his job. Though it is beneficial for the
organisation yet it can be said that it can reduce employee engagement and ability to solve the
critical situation with innovative ideas (Adams 2014). In the long term will create an adverse
impact on this multinational company.
Thus, this paper concludes that dehumanising work can help a business organisation to
achieve its individual and shared objectives. But in the long term, it will create an adverse impact
on the company. The employee engagement, creativity of the workforce will be diminished.
Instead of dehumanising work, fulfilling work cam deliver long-term benefit to the company. It
encourages employees to innovation and creativity. The freedom of the employee will be
respected. So it can be said that instead of dehumanising work, fulfilling work is more
preferable.

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References:
Adams, S., 2014. Feeling less than human: exploring the causes and consequences of
dehumanisation from the target's perspective.
Al-Amoudi, I., 2018. Management and dehumanisation in late modernity. In Realist Responses
to Post-Human Society: Ex Machina (pp. 192-204). Routledge.
Gröpel, P. and Kuhl, J., 2009. Work–life balance and subjective well‐being: The mediating role
of need fulfilment. British Journal of Psychology, 100(2), pp.365-375.
Hamstra, M.R., Van Yperen, N.W., Wisse, B. and Sassenberg, K., 2014. Transformational and
transactional leadership and followers’ achievement goals. Journal of Business and
Psychology, 29(3), pp.413-425.
Haslam, N., 2006. Dehumanization: An integrative review. Personality and social psychology
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Nicolaides, A., 2018. A Marcusean Philosophy For Restoring Workplace Dignity, And Curbing
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Ozguner, Z. and Ozguner, M., 2014. A managerial point of view on the relationship between of
Maslow's hierarchy of needs and Herzberg's dual factor theory. International Journal of
Business and Social Science, 5(7).

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Soni, B. and Soni, R., 2016, July. Enhancing Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs for effective
leadership. In Competition Forum (Vol. 14, No. 2, p. 259). American Society for
Competitiveness.

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Upadhyaya, C., 2014. Application of the Maslow's hierarchy of need theory; impacts and
implications on organizational culture, human resource and employee's
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van der Walt, F., 2018. Workplace spirituality, work engagement and thriving at work. SA
Journal of Industrial Psychology, 44(1), pp.1-10.