Blackwell Reference Online

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Self‐esteem is the attitude that a person has about himself or herself, as a good or bad person, and the extent to which people like themselves. Self‐esteem has been considered a personality trait, a stable individual difference in the extent to which people hold positive or negative views of themselves. People who are high in self‐esteem have been found to be psychologically better adjusted, to perform better in school, to handle criticism more appropriately, and to cope better with failure ( Baron and Byrne, 1991 ). Tharenou (1979) summarized the research on self‐esteem in the work domain. She found that high esteem was positively associated with job satisfaction and intention to stay on the job ( see turnover ). Low esteem was associated with poor employee health, but it is not clear whether esteem affects health. Tharenou suggests that both low self‐esteem and poor health may be responses to stress on the job. Research has failed to find relations of esteem with job performance in field settings. The more task specific variable of self‐efficacy seems to have more promise in explaining and predicting task performance. See also persistence ; personality ; self‐regulation ( 1991 ). Social Psychology . Needham Heights, MA : Allyn and Bacon . ( 1979 ). Employee self‐esteem: A review of the literature . Journal of Vocational Behavior , 15 , 316 – 46 . ... log in or subscribe to read full text