Need for affiliation

Need linked to the urge to avoid isolation by creating a wide and close network of social connections with other individuals. Within an organization, people with a very strong need for affiliation desire most of all to develop close relationships based on mutual support. Therefore, they will seek to please supervisors and recruit staff members who seem friendly and do not represent a threat, because they do not derive pleasure from the possibility of prevailing over others or from achieving specific efficiency or effectiveness objectives. Supervisors with a strong need for affiliation find it difficult to manage their role effectively. While good relationships favour cooperation, beyond a certain limit they may interfere with the assignment of objectives, management control and performance appraisal.