Is there a Relationship between Self-Esteem and Work Performance?

Annotated Bibliography

Research Question: Is there a Relationship between Self-Esteem and Work Performance?

Baumeister, R. F., Campbell, J. D., Krueger, J. I., & & Vohs, K. D. (2003). Does high self-esteem cause better performance, interpersonal success, happiness, or healthier lifestyles? Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 4(1), 1-44.

A group of four psychologists R. Baumeister, J. Campbell, J. Krueger and K. Vohs reviewed a significant number of studies published over the years. They searched for scientific evidence which confirmed or refuted data that increasing self-esteem improves performance, nor that people with high self-esteem are more pleasant, have better relationships or are better leaders. They also concluded that high self-esteem is related to selfishness, narcissism and arrogance. This article provides examples as well as expert opinions relevant to my research topic. The information has been clearly researched and it’s useful to my project.

Furnham, A., Eracleous, A., & Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2009). Personality, motivation and job satisfaction: Hertzberg meets the Big Five. Journal of Managerial Psychology Vol. 24 Iss: 8, 765 – 779.

Most research articles are based on the relationship of external factors that produce satisfaction, such as working conditions, management style or relationships with colleagues. But in turn, the authors of this study consider that in the same circumstances some people are more motivated than others and that this also depends on their own personality, emotional stability, extraversion or responsibility. This study is relevant because it provide me with evidence to support my claims about whether there is a relationship between Self-Esteem and Work Performance.

Ghazzawi, I. (2008). Antecedents and Consequences of Job Satisfaction: A New Conceptual Framework. The Business Review, Cambridge. Vol. 11, Num. 2, 1-10.

The article addresses job satisfaction and its determinants because humanistic approaches postulate its importance as a facilitator of productivity in organizations. The theories of job satisfaction are reviewed, considering some alternatives to carry them out in an integrative way. I believe this is a reliable source of information that provides useful insight into my research topic.

Kreitner, K., & Kinicki, A. (2007). Organizational Behavior(ed). N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

The purpose of this textbook is to help current and future managers to better understand and direct people in their work. Many of the changes made in this edition reflect new research data and new management techniques. Each chapter begins with a real case study as well as examples referring to large and small organizations, public and private, to make this edition interesting and current renewed. This book provides credible and first-hand date that could be useful to my research; however I don’t believe all the information would be insightful or relevant enough to be utilized in my research project.

Pierce, J., & Gardner, D. (2004). Self-Esteem within the Work and Organizational Context: A Review of the Organization. Journal of Management 30(5), 591-622.

The above article written by Pierce, Gardner, Cummings and Dunham (1989 and 1993) describes how self-esteem is shaped by work organizations experiences and how Self-Esteem influences work-related behavior. In addition, it explores the development and validation of a model of self-esteem based on the work organization, called Organization-Based Self-Esteem (OBSE), through the realization of 7 studies with the participation of 2444 workers from different organizational plants. In comparison to other articles I have read, I find this to be the most interesting one because it really provides a wealth of information which is relatable and applicable to my research topic. Furthermore, the authors have researched decades of studies and recognized the role played by Self-esteem within the work and organizational framework.

Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

In his book, Rosenberg proposes a measure to establish the level of self-esteem in adolescents. In this fashion, he analyses the relationship of Self-Esteem and social institutions as well as the negative outcomes of having low self-esteem. Rosenberg’s self-esteem scale, a short test with good psychometric properties, is the most widely used instrument for assessing self-esteem in clinical practice and scientific research. This source is very relevant to my research because it provides an useful scale to measure the level of Self-Esteem that is accurate. In addition, this book as well as a large number of subsequent studies have confirmed the reliability and validity of the Rosenberg self-esteem scale.

Vohs, K., & Heatherton, T. (2001). Self-esteem and threats to self: Implications for self-construals and interpersonal perceptions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 1103–1118.

Authors Vohs and Heatherton conducted 4 Studies about the interpersonal perceptions of various individuals with High and Low Self –Esteem. They examined these individuals’ self- construals and ego threats. Vohs and Heatherton discovered that people with high Self-Esteem are more interdependent, seek constant feedback and are not as pleasant as those with low Self-Esteem. This article, although it provides interesting information and quantitative data it does not offer, in my opinion, significant insight into the relationship between Self-Esteem and Work Performance which is the subject of my research topic.

Branden, N. (2001). The Psychology of Self-Esteem: A Revolutionary Approach to Self-Understanding that Launched a New Era in Modern Psychology. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

 In this fascinating book, Nathaniel Branden answers the most basic questions on the subject of self-esteem: What is it? – Why is it so necessary? – What can happen to us if we do not cultivate it? In addition, Branden challenges therapeutic approaches based on the vision of the human being understood as a puppet or a machine and places self-esteem at the center of the stage, demonstrating how it can contribute to our well-being and our most precious values and goals. Moreover, he shows how self-esteem is related to other human traits/abilities such as perseverance, responsibility and integrity are all related. In summary, Branden examines how self-esteem has an effect on our values, goals and responses and most importantly the critical role that self –esteem plays in helping us lead happy and fulfilled lives.

This source is relevant to my research because it explains the role that self-esteem (or lack of) plays in our daily lives as well as validates current research about how Self-esteem affects almost every aspect of our lives including our professional side.

Lisbona, A., Palaci, F., Salanova, M., & Frese, M. (2018). The effects of work engagement and self-efficacy on personal initiative and performance. Psicothema Vol. 30, No. 1, 89-96.

The authors of this study examined, the effects of work engagement and self-efficacy in personal initiative and performance. They determined that the concepts of work engagement and personal initiative are related but are different concepts. This work is based on the personal initiative model of Frese and Fay (2001) and extends it, including work engagement as a precedent of personal initiative, together with self-efficacy and performance as a result. They concluded that the study’s outcome confirmed their hypothesis “Work engagement and self-efficacy lead to greater personal initiative, which implies improved performance.”  This information is evidently relevant to my research and it is presented in a clear way which could be a very useful source for my study.

Richter, A., Schraml, K., & Leineweber, C. (2015). Work-family conflict, emotional exhaustion and performance-based self-esteem: reciprocal relationships. Int Arch Occup Environ Health Vol. 88, 103-112.

The present study conducted a longitudinal research of the Swedish workforce to explore the relationship between Emotional exhaustion, Performance-based self-esteem and Family conflict. As per the authors Richter, Schraml, and Leineweber, it was concluded that “the three constructs are interrelated and best understood through a reciprocal model” (Richter, A., Schraml, K., & Leineweber, C. 2015). Although this article provides compelling evidence about the relationship between Emotional exhaustion, Performance-based self-esteem and Family conflict (Richter, A., Schraml, K., & Leineweber, C. (2015), the information presented it does not seem applicable to my research study.

Ferris, D. L., Lian, H., Pang, F. X., Brown, D. J., & Keeping, L. M. (2009). Self-Esteem and Job Performance: The Moderating Role of Self-Esteem Contingencies. Personnel Psychology. 63, (3), 561-593.

The present article written by Ferris et al., 2009 takes a broader look at whether Self-Esteem has main or moderating effects on Work Performance. The authors used a sample of two working adults to determine the importance of Self-Esteem on Job performance and therefore disregard multiple studies’ – about the subject- mixed findings. The study proves that there is somewhat of an influence of Self-Esteem over Work Performance. This research is evidently relevant and provides useful sources to support my research study about the relationship between Self-Esteem and Work Performance.

Mutran, E. J., Reitzes, D. J., Bratton, K. A., & Fernandez, M. E. (1997). Self-Esteem and Subjective Responses to Work among Mature Workers: Similarities and Differences by Gender. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, Volume 52B, Issue 2, S89–S96. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/52B.2.S89

The above article written by Mutran, Reitzes, Bratton and Fernandez, addresses questions related to the influence of Self- Esteem and responses to Work among both male and female workers. It examines the effects, the impact of Self-esteem as well as the satisfaction level of these workers. This study serves as a good source for my topic research because it explores- if any- gender differences associated to Self-Esteem; in addition to examining whether the role of the worker and work experiences have any implications on their Self-Esteem.