A Question of Employee Self-Esteem

Critical Thinking Assignment on Employee Self-Esteem

Self-esteem can be defined in various ways, however, the clinical psychologists define it as a global barometer of self-evaluation involving cognitive appraisals about general self-worth and effective experiences of the self that are linked to these global appraisals (Khalek, 2016, p3). Employee self-esteem is critical in the workspace because employees' self-esteem growth impacts on productivity and profitability.

This report seeks to critically discuss issues related to employee self-esteem through looking at its importance and challenges experienced while improving personnel self-esteem. Also, the roles and responsibilities that both employers and employees must take in order to improve employee self-esteem are discussed.

The importance of Employee Self-Esteem

Phycologists refer to self-esteem as a muscle that must be developed and maintained throughout regular psychological workouts (McGrath, 2016). Therefore, it is imperative for both the employer and employee to harness the progress of self-esteem all the time. Hence, self-esteem is one of the key factors that contribute to employee's career success.

Based on the report issued by Westwood (2004), self-esteem has been a major issue for politicians, employers, and employees for decades. The report stipulated that self-esteem is important because society has become more individualized and the world of work is riskier, successes and failures are more personally felt than ever before (Westwood, 2004).

Furthermore, the study conducted by Kuster, Orth and Meier (2013) revealed that high self-esteem lead to more satisfaction and success in work and life.

The degree of importance of self-esteem varies across different industries. However, there are certain jobs or career paths that requires employees to have the right self-esteem. One of the industries that requires high self-esteem individuals is teaching industry. This is due to that fact that teachers are the nation builders for every society. If teachers are dissatisfied with their jobs then they are unable to produce excellent results, therefore, the negative ripple effects are huge (Zafar, Mubashir, Tariq, Masood, Kazmi, Zaman & Zahid, 2014). The study conducted by Zafar, et al (2014) indicated that self-esteem must not be examined in isolation. Issues such as job satisfaction, performance, salary, working conditions, promotion, supervision, and coworkers are critical factors that influence individual's self-esteem. 

Challenges of Employee Self-Esteem Within the Workplace

The main challenge that companies face is managing employees with poor or low self-esteem. These employees are often a challenge not because they cannot get the job done, but if they are not motivated and lack self-esteem, they often put little effort to their work, do not come up with innovative ideas and always looking for an escape thus increasing labor turnover.

To overcome the challenge stipulated above, Paige (2018) suggests that managers must identify indications of low self-esteem in an employee, show an employee with low self-esteem that you value him/her as a person, acknowledge him/her when he/she meets and exceeds performance expectations, provide appropriate training and professional development opportunities and lastly, offer constructive balance to an employee who struggles with low self-worth.

Subjectively, another challenge is identifying the level(s) of self-esteem among employees. Most managers do not have a degree in social work or counseling. Nurturing individuals with low self-esteem can be a daunting task. Another key challenge is that self-esteem can be influenced by various factors that are beyond organization's control. These include as noted by Akgunduz (2014) past events, family members, teachers, different social groups, failure to meet work and personal goals.

Organization's role in improving Employee Self-Esteem

The pace of work can be demanding and no one stops to acknowledge the excellent performance of the employees. Therefore, to boost employees' self-esteem, performance appraisal is crucial because this allows employees to feel valued and appreciated.

Employers can use the following measures of self-esteem suggested by Khalek (2016) to gauge or establish their employees level of self-esteem (a) Rosenberg self-esteem scale which is the most popular measure of global self-esteem, (b) state and trait scale, (c) explicit and implicit scale, (d) uni and multidimensional scale. The scales listed might resolve the challenge mentioned above of identifying the level of self-esteem each employee has or have.

From an employer's perspective, the ripple effects of boosting and improving employees' self-esteem are huge. High self-esteem employees tend to increase sales and profit because they believe in themselves and the work that they do. Additionally, the employer ends up with autonomous workers who get things done without constantly asking for help and advice. Furthermore, labor turnover declines because employees that have high self-esteem are happy and in return, loyal to the company.

To overcome the challenges listed above, one of the resolutions could be to incorporate the activities or programs that talks to self-esteem within the Human Resource & Development department. Hence, Human Resource and Development have a better chance to execute programs that empower employees' confidence and self-esteem in order to do their jobs very well.

Christi (2017) suggests key factors employers can utilize to improve employee self-esteem and these range from day to day meetings as this will give a brief overview of employees' daily workflow. It will also reduce their stress about how they are going to do the work. Secondly, building trust among employees is crucial because it is a key factor to improve relationships with employees who play an important role within the organization. Thirdly, letting employees share ideas and knowledge will thrive innovation and better decision-making. Also, permitting employees to take decisions and lastly make friendly environment where you get regular feedback through instant chat or group chat that will enable you as an employer to know what your employees feel about their work (Christi, 2017).

Employee role in boosting their Self-Esteem

Investing time and energy into improving ones' self-esteem is critical. Entities want to attract the best talent in the market and having the right self-esteem as an individual can sometimes increase the chances of securing a lucrative and best job.

As an employee, people are more likely to make clear and sound decisions (with confidence) when their self-esteem is high. McGrath, (2016) suggest four strategies as to how one can boost his/her own self-esteem. First of all  (a) stopping negative thinking in order to stop its impact on ones' work, health and relationships. Next (b) visualizing the ultimate objective via self-esteem bulletin board and (c) keeping record card on ones' best efforts for improving own self-esteem. Finally, (d) seeking projects that generate passion and learn new work skills so that one feels passionate about.

There are many reasons why employees may lack self-esteem at work. This may be due to not having the right skill sets to do the job, or less experience compared to other core-workers, perhaps an employee is new to the organization, the reasons are countless. Hence, Smith (2013) suggests that employees must be more assertive as this will allow them to be taken more seriously. However, employees must guard against being arrogant. Regulating and balancing feelings of confidence requires considerable self-awareness and knowledge; therefore, employees must make sure they do not lack confidence nor are they over-confident, a healthy level of confidence is recommended.

Smith (2013) further stipulates that attending career coaching is key in making sure that self-esteem is harness. Also, having confident core-workers is crucial because they are positive contributors, more productive, and make great role models. Lastly is it imperative for the employees to stay focused, identify key strengths and capitalize on them, identify weaknesses and work and them, seek encouragement, challenge themselves, and most importantly believe in themselves.

Conclusion

Organizations that place huge emphasis on employee self-esteem have more benefits compared to organizations that put less effort in improving employees' self-esteem. This paper discussed the importance of self-esteem within the workplace and the benefits of having individuals with self-esteem were highlighted.

Moreover, challenges that can hinder entities when improving employees' self-esteem were established. The discussion of roles between the employer and employee regarding self-esteem were highlighted and each party must play a certain role in order to help employees increase and maintain high self-esteem.

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