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WORK & SELF-ESTEEM.
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Review of literature on relationships among work variables (type of job, worker-management relations, etc.), job satisfaction & self-esteem.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Review of literature on relationships among work variables (type of job, worker-management relations, etc.), job satisfaction & self-esteem.
Paper Introduction:
CURRENT LITERATURE ON WORK AND SELF-ESTEEM
Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to examine a sampling of the current research investigating self-esteem in relation to work or work-related variables. In this regard, a search of the PsychLit database revealed that in the last five years, over 180 studies had been conducted on self-esteem in the work setting. While it is not possible to review all of these studies, a representative sampling is examined here.
Current Studies of Work/Self-Esteem
Mallinckrodt (1990) examined for relationships between work variables, job satisfaction, and self-esteem for a sample of 40 middle-aged professionals. All professionals were pretested after losing their jobs, and then post-tested one year later. Of
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Super. Journalof Psychological Researches, 31(2), 82-87. (1988). Kanchier, C., & Unruh, W.R. In this regard, a search of the PsychLit database revealed thatin the last five years, over 18 studies had been conducted on self-esteemin the work setting. (1987). Psychology of Women Quarterly, 11(1), 69-82. Satisfaction with a new job afterunemployment: Consequences of job loss for older professionals. NASSP Bulletin, 7(513), 44-49. Journal of EmploymentCounseling, 26(3), 1 7-116. . However, future researchers interested in self-esteem in the work environment will probably be testing this model in the199 s. Indeed, theresearchers described both groups of women as sure of their abilities,achievement-oriented, dominant and stable. Schwalbe, M.L. (199 ). As noted in thejust mentioned studies, positive feedback appears to be contributive.However, Liden and Associates (1988) discovered that it is not simplypositive feedback that builds self-esteem in managerial/subordinate worksituations. The impactof gender segregation on men at work. (1989). Some studies of self-esteem and work variables have attempted todiscover the precise work factors that build selfesteem. (1989). In addition, studiesexamining for the influence of culture, gender, and other demographicfactors on the work/self-esteem relationship were also reviewed. Special issue. References Adams, B. In addition, moonlighters were found to be more dominant,practical, emotionally stable, masculine, and independent thannonmoonlighters. Group andOrganizational Studies, 13(3), 348-373. An empirical study ofreentry women. Work stress and self-esteem is also a relationship that has beenexamined in the current research. All subjects were required to complete a scale measuringpowerlessness, normalessness, meaningfulness, social isolation, andselfestrangement. It might be noted thatPickering et al.'s finding is in conflict with other self-esteem/workvariable literature which suggests that reentry women are low in self-esteem (e.g., Wood, 1989). Psychological Reports, 65(3, pt.1),915-919. The relationship of employment toself-perception and well-being in women: A cognitive analysis. Sample subjects were measured in terms of self-esteem, life satisfaction, and selfperception. Findings observed for the extensive study weresummarized by Kanchier and Unruh (1989) as follows: Work values, work meanings, and career goals were similar and portrayed distinct patterns that represented their (managers) value hierarchies. CURRENT LITERATURE ON WORK AND SELF-ESTEEM Introduction The purpose of this paper is to examine a sampling of the currentresearch investigating self-esteem in relation to work or work-relatedvariables. Current Studies of Work/Self-Esteem Mallinckrodt (199 ) examined for relationships between workvariables, job satisfaction, and self-esteem for a sample of 4 middle-agedprofessionals. However, inthe second work period, high self-esteem subjects showed no taskperformance difference compared to low self-esteem subjects. Learned helplessness: A factor in counselingfor displaced homemakers. (1989). Specifically, Viktor and Seff found that occupational conditionsinfluenced workers' sense of competence; if sense of competence was strong,then it overrode social class as a determinant of self-esteem. Journalof Counselling Psychology, 37(2), 21-25. However, both self-esteem and internal locus ofcontrol (degree to which one feels his life circumstances are controlled byinternal factors like choice, effort, decision, etc.) were elevatedfollowing reemployment. Career- oriented subjects who were employed were most likely to emphasize job- related characteristics in their self-descriptions. Social class, occupationalconditions, and self-esteem. Bem's view that sex-roleidentity is related to occupational attainment, self-esteem, and jobsatisfaction, Chow (1987) surveyed 161 employed Asian-American women (MeanAge = 35.2 years). Tang, Liu and Vermillion (1987) examined self-esteem@n relation totask difficulty (easy or difficult). Of interest to these authors was whether personalitycharacteristics were linked to job satisfaction and/or self-esteem.Subjects in the study were 1 2 health-care supervisors. PersonnelJournal, 67(5), 48-53. Effects ofselfesteem and task labels (difficult v.s easy). In another study examining for factors contributive to self-esteem inthe work setting, Schwalbe (1988) surveyed 25 employees working in fivemanufacturing firms. While it is not possible to review all of thesestudies, a representative sampling is examined here. Juhasz, A.M. Wood, C.J. for example, Pickering andGalvin (1988) compared career women (N=78) to reentry working women (N=76). Thestrongest contributor was employees' perceptions of their job competence.Social comparisons of self to co-workers also influenced selfesteem. Findings in the study revealed that entrepreneurs were lower infeelings of alienation than were textile workers; moreover, theentrepreneurs had higher mental health scores than did the textile workers. The authors observed that: Career-oriented subjects employed full-time were happier with themselves and their lives than subjects employed part-time or not employed. In another study of female workers, Manis and Markus (1987) surveyed853 women, one-half of which were career-oriented, and one half of whichwere not career-oriented. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 35(3), 2983 3. Chow (1987) observed thatandrogynous subjects did indeed have both higher self-esteem and a greaterdegree of work satisfaction than those who were non-androgynous in sex-roleidentity. (p.467) In another theoretical study, Juhasz (1989) formulated and developeda model of adulthood in which self-esteem is viewed as the power that theadult uses to attain satisfaction not only with himself, his family life,but also his work environment. For example, in a study of teachers' performance infour rural high schools, Matthes (1988) found that increased recognition ofteachers' accomplishments by administrators and co-workers led to anincrease in teachers' self-esteem and feelings of personal empowermentwhich, in turn, led to an increase in their motivation to perform well.Similarly, Adams and Bailey (1988) observed that teachers with stronglevels of self-esteem were maximally successful in teaching performance. Interestingly, findings showed that irrespective of either theirlevels of self-esteem and sense of competence, women experienced lower jobsatisfaction when they spent more of their discretionary time at work.This finding was not observed for men. Another factor that has been studied in relation to work variablesand self-esteem has been culture. Subramanian, S., Venkatapathy, R., & Vasudevan, S. Is moonlighting mired in myth? Maric, D., Aiuppa, T.A., & Watson, J.G. In their survey of over822 employed males, the authors found that men working in settings withequal numbers of male and female workers: . With respect to Chow's study, it can be noted that Bem's perspectiveholds that women who are both masculine and feminine (androgynous) in theirpersonality characteristics and traits, tend to have better psychologicalhealth and more successful work outcomes. while groups did not show anydifferences on measures of mental and physical health, job satisfaction,job stress, job performance, and social support, a significant differencewas found for self-esteem. Journal of Rural and Small Schools, 2(3), 21-25. Tang, T.L., Liu, H., & Vermillion, W.H. Journal of GeneralPsychology, 114(3), 249-262. Mallinckrodt, B. Work values: How do managerswho change jobs differ from those who do not? Wharton and Baron (1987) found that gender interaction and the lackthereof can influence males' sense of self-esteem. Keller, R.T. Unfortunately, Juhasz proposed the model but offered notest of its propositions. Personality type,organizational norms and self-esteem. Exemplary high schools in rural settings:The teacher's story. (1988). (1987). Matthes, W.A. (1988). (1989). In one study, LeCroy and Rank (1986)studied stress, the phenomenon of "burnout" (severe stress leading toterminating one's job), and self-esteem in a sample of 1 6 social workers.They found that job satisfaction and self-esteem were important inexplaining variance in social workers' burnout levels. (1987).Alienation and mental health as a function of occupational roles. Keller (1987) examined for the effectsof both culture and gender on workrelated job satisfaction, self-esteem,sense of competence, career salience, job involvement, and discretionarytime. (1987). Rather, self-esteem is elevated when managerial feedbackattributes employees' success on the job to their personal characteristicsand their failures to external factors. A role-based approach to adult development:The triple-helix model. When conditions were compared, it was foundthat high self-esteem subjects in the easy work task condition performedsignificantly better than subjects in the difficult condition. They were also required to complete a mental healthinventory. The influenceof causal feedback on subordinate reactions and behaviors. (p.23) In a Canadian study, Jamal (1988) examined self-esteem in relation tomoonlighting. Findings showed that those who were employed one year later wereindeed experiencing significantly less job satisfaction in their newpositions than that they had experienced in their former positions.Dissatisfaction tended, primarily, to be associated with the factors of payand company benefits. Summary The purpose of this research was to examine a sample of the currentresearch on self-esteem and work/work-related variables. Most subjects perceived work as a way of developing and maintain their sense of identity and self-esteem. Some of the current literature relating self-esteem to work and work-related variables is theoretical. International Journal of Aging and HumanDevelopment, 29(4), 3 1-315. It was felt that this positive feedback explained the group'shigher self-esteem. Liden, R.C., Ferris, G.R., & Dienesch, R.M. The influence of sex-role identity andoccupational attainment on the psychological well-being of Asian Americanwomen. Sources of self-esteem in work: What'simportant for whom? (1989). School is for teachers: Enhancingthe school environment. Wharton, A.S., & Baron, J.N. Subject groups consisted of 4 4 rankand-file workers, 252firefighters, and 283 blue-collar workers. LeCroy and Rank(1986) stated: It is concluded that a social service agency will obtain higher worker effectiveness and less worker exhaustion by recognizing the need for worker independence, self-esteem acceptance, and support. Jamal, M. (Wharton & Barton, 1987, p.574) There is a sizeable portion of the self-esteem/variable(s) literaturethat deals specifically with female workers. Women's issues and employment.Journal of Employment Counseling, 26(1), 4-1 .----------------------- 12 Specifically, Jamal found that subjects who were moonlighting hadsignificantly higher self-esteem scores than did subjects who were notmoonlighting. Special Issue: Burnoutamong social workers. Cross-cultural influences on work and nonworkcontributors to quality of life. According to Juhasz, a research can plotthe developmental maturity of an individual by examining his occupation,his career options, and other salient work-related events andcharacteristics. Low self-esteem and continuing feelings of frustration and powerlessness thenimpairs their mental health. Theory was a component of a study conducted by Kanchier and Unruh(1989) of work values held by managers. Based on S.L. . During the first work period, subjectswho were in the easy condition set higher goals than did subjects who werein the difficult condition. (1988). The authorssummarized their findings as follows: Subjects who scored in personality type more like their own work group had higher self-esteem and longer job tenure than those who were less similar in type to that of their group. Chow, E.N. Findings are more consistent with the perspective that emphasizes how the quality and quantity of intergroup relations decline as groups become more balanced. Viktor and Seff (1989) examined for a relationship betweensocioeconomic status, educational background, self-worth, selfefficacy,general self-esteem and a variety of occupational conditions (e.g. Subjectswere interviewed by the investigator in addition to having to complete therequired questionnaires. (1987). The authors reasoned that when people are employed in mechanized, assembly-line, and automated types of jobs, they experience a lowered sense of self-esteem as well as feelings of frustration and powerlessness. Maric, Aiuppa and Watson (1989) also examined job satisfaction andself-esteem. . Sex-Roles,17(7-8), 467-477. Pickering, G.S., & Galvin, S.K. American Sociological Review, 52(5),574-587. (1989). Work and Occupations, 15(1), 24-35. Nonchangers seemed to desire more traditional or extrinsic work rewards, but job changers preferred more intrinsic rewards. All professionals were pretested after losing their jobs,and then post-tested one year later. (p.915)Maric et al.also observed that when subjects "fit" the organizationalnorms, they tended, on the average, to receive significantly more positivefeedback regarding work performance than did subjects who were non-normative. (1987). Viktor, G., & Seff, M.A. (1986). LeCroy, C.W., & Rank, M.R. Journal of Social Service Research, 1 (1), 23-39. Group and Organization Studies, 12(3),3 4-318. For subjects who were not careeroriented, being employed was not associated with greater self-esteem or well-being. Positive feedback as a precursor of elevations in self-esteem hasbeen found to be related to job motivation in work situations in theeducational system. Using this definition, the authors were interested in comparing thework values of two groups of managers: (1) a group who voluntarily left alarge Canadian corporation (N=65); and (2) a group who stayed with thecompany (N=97). reported significantly lower job-related satisfaction and self- esteem, and more job-related depression than men in either male- or female-dominated work settings, even after controlling for individual job, organizational, and economic determinants of well-being . Theoretically, the authors wantedto examine work values using the theoretical definition of the term givenby E. So happy together? & Bailey, A. Factors associated with burnoutin the social services: An exploratory study. Specifically, Super had stated that work values werequalities, satisfactions or rewards that individuals desired to seek fromtheir work environment. The authors observed that the reentry women held lower-level jobs and werelower in both assertiveness and autonomy than were the career women.However, both groups evidenced the same level of self-esteem. In the current literature, self-esteem has been related tooccupational roles, feelings of alienation, and mental health. Of interest to Mallinckrodt waswhether a hidden cost of job loss was decreased job satisfaction and/orself-esteem upon reemployment. One suchstudy was conducted by Subramanian, Venkatapathy, and Vasudevan (1987).The authors studied a sample of 24 Indian textile workers and 6 textileentrepreneurs. Also,studies that were concerned with theoretical descriptions of work and self-esteem were also examined. (1988). workcomplexity, control over work, degree of supervision, and routinization.Findings showed that while social class did make for differences in self-esteem, the level of self-esteem felt by sample subjects was mediated bytheir occupational conditions. He found two factors to be responsible for eitherpositively or negatively influencing workers' self-esteem levels. Manis, J., & Markus, H. Interestingly, age was observed to be positivelycorrelated with satisfaction on the new job. To this end, thereviewed research examined studies of self-esteem in relation to a varietyof work variables and workrelated perceptions. . All managers (aged 23-65 years) were required to complete the WorkValues Inventory, and the Self and Work Perception Questionnaire. Sociological Perspectives, 32(3), 353-364. On theother hand, if workers' sense of competence was not strong, then their self-esteem levels were more aligned with those of their social class.
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