Self-Esteem at the Workplace
From your school days till now, it has been taught to us that confidence has a great impact on the way that people are going to perceive you. As you have graduated or gotten a new job, you may find yourself in a position of gathering around new personalities and working your way to becoming a great employee.
In this blog, you are going to witness some amazing facts and aspects of self-esteem that can help you become the person or employee you want to be.
According to Candace Webb’s How to Build Self-Esteem in the Workplace, “employees who feel good about themselves are typically able to focus better, require less time off, and generally get along well with coworkers.”
Let’s understand What is self-esteem, and why is it important to have high-self esteem employees for an organization’s success?
Self-esteem is not egoism or conceit, nor is it an intellectual inventory of your best qualities and assets. Knowing you’re good and wearing it well is self-esteem.
Healthy self-esteem is the degree to which you like and respect yourself and feel confident in dealing with life’s challenges, whether consciously or unconsciously. It refers to how warm, friendly, and appreciative you are of yourself and others. Healthy self-esteem can also influence your level of self-efficacy, or the belief that you have the ability to achieve whatever goals you set for yourself.
The Advantages of High Self Esteem
Dr. Laura Morgan Roberts studies the importance of self-esteem and has discovered specific benefits associated with high employee self-esteem. Employees with high self-esteem are more likely to trust their own thinking and judgment and thus make better decisions. Having these qualities also allows us to form more effective interpersonal and professional relationships, which allows us to contribute more effectively to the work environment around us. As leaders, high self-esteem allows us to focus more positively on other people and their development rather than berating our own performance.
There is no doubt that having a positive self-esteem influences how we operate in the workplace, how we interact with others, and how far we advance in our careers.
The Disadvantages of Low Self-Esteem
Almost everyone has experienced a period of low confidence at some point in their lives. It can be difficult to recover once it has been dented, and it has a significant impact on our personal and professional lives.
Poor self-esteem frequently leads to a fear of the unknown and can result in unproductive work behaviors such as defensiveness, being overly compliant, or rebellious.
Also Read: Amazing Ways for Resolving Conflicts
How to Develop a Positive Self Esteem
Nobody is as harsh on ourselves as we are on ourselves. Unfortunately, the negative bias we have about ourselves becomes a habit, and soon enough, constantly criticizing ourselves becomes so natural that we don’t even notice it.
Consider a time when you felt particularly good about yourself and what you did to achieve that feeling. What has changed since that time? Perhaps you are feeling threatened by a new manager or colleague, or you may have started a new job and are not yet fully settled, or something else.
What Can Leaders or Managers Do to Foster Positive Self-Esteem in the Workplace?
It is critical for you, as a leader, to have high self-esteem as well as your team.
You can encourage thoughtful reflection as a manager. Whether it’s time to conduct appraisals or a large project has just concluded, don’t move on until you understand what went well and provide thoughtful feedback to those who were involved.
Make certain that the entire team is involved. Some people will naturally contribute vocally, while others will sit quietly and get on with their work. This does not imply that they are doing less work or that the quality is lower, but the quieter employees frequently miss out on praise because they are not shouting about what they are doing. Take the time to thank each member of your team and give credit where credit is due.
I guess, till now, you have got an idea of self-esteem at work.
Also Read: Essential Organizational Skills for Workplace Success
Some Facts About Self-Esteem vs Self-Worth.
The conceptualization of self-esteem vs. self-worth or self-confidence has been antecedent from self-esteem in the workplace. Now let’s put some light on the key differences between these two.
Self-worth is defined by researchers as a broader, more stable form of self-esteem that is less influenced by external or internal factors. Self-worth describes your core beliefs about your worth and value rather than specific traits, skills, circumstances, or achievements. Because core beliefs tend to remain consistent over time, self-worth is less likely to fluctuate in response to feelings, thoughts, behaviors, or experiences.
A person with a high sense of self-worth is thought to have more stable and positive self-esteem. It protects a person against stress and emotional problems while also making a person healthier, happier, and more successful.
If you have a strong sense of self-worth, you are more likely to:
- Regardless of what is going on, believe that you are good, worthy, and lovable.
- Regardless of what is going on in your life, believe that you are good, worthy, and lovable.
- Feel worthy of other people’s love and respect.
- Accept and love yourself exactly as you are, without conditions or exceptions.
- Compassionately treat yourself with care, kindness, and respect.
- Believe in your ability to change, grow, and improve.
- Have flaws and make mistakes that do not jeopardize your identity or value.
So, the main question that arises is, why is “behaving your way to higher self-esteem” effective?
Why do people like themselves more when they act the way they already do? It has to do with consistency of attitude and behavior. People are highly motivated to maintain consistency in their attitudes and behaviors. For example, if you like someone, you will tend to behave positively toward them in order to maintain consistency in your attitudes and behaviors. If you dislike someone, you will be motivated to maintain your negative attitude toward them and treat them poorly.
The same idea applies to your attitudes and behaviors toward yourself. If you have low self-esteem—a negative attitude toward yourself—you will be motivated to maintain that negative attitude and treat yourself negatively. If you do not consistently act in accordance with your negative attitude toward yourself, you will experience “cognitive dissonance,” an unpleasant feeling caused by your attitudes and behaviors being “out of sync.” Cognitive dissonance is the primary reason that people with low self-esteem avoid doing positive things for themselves, including seemingly simple things like accepting compliments. Rejecting a compliment is a negative behavior that reinforces your negative self-image. This allows you to achieve attitude-behavior consistency while avoiding the unpleasant cognitive dissonance.
Also Read: People Skills For First Time Manager
Here are Some Crucial Tips for Practicing Positive Self-Esteem in the Workplace.
- Show your confidence in their abilities.
Micromanaging employees gives the impression that you do not trust them to complete their tasks, which lowers their self-esteem. Giving them adequate training and then trusting them to do their jobs well shows them that you believe in them and that they should believe in themselves.
- Encourage success and growth.
There are numerous stories about bosses who thwarted every attempt their assistant made to cross-train and apply for promotional transfers because they did not want to lose their best employee. Encouraging your employees to do their best, even if it means losing them to other areas of the company, boosts their self-esteem. In turn, they will spread the word about how encouraging you were, and others will want to work for you in your department. Any company’s goal is to have its employees work together to achieve overall success.
- Recognize achievement.
Employees who meet quotas and are recognized for their efforts have higher self-esteem than employees who are ignored despite their efforts. Giving out awards, certificates, and gift cards for a job well done shows everyone that you are aware of their efforts and appreciate them.
- Credit should be given where credit is due.
Nothing is more difficult than having a great idea stolen by a manager. In the long run, doing so discourages employees from sharing their ideas. When an employee comes up with a new idea, make sure to give credit to the employee when you share it. Take the employee to the pitch meeting if possible so he can hear you recognize him for his efforts. If that is not possible, send a memo around when the idea is implemented, crediting the employee.
- Bring in outside assistance.
Hiring team-building coaches to come to your company and hold seminars, exercise sessions, and other activities helps to boost the self-esteem of your employees. A trained professional understands how to motivate a team and get your employees excited about being a part of the company. These sessions will increase group self-esteem, resulting in a more positive work environment and higher productivity.
If you want to become a person with high self-esteem and confidence, which in turn gives you the path of success, then you can check out our course on “The Power of Building Self-Esteem”.
