How Your Self Esteem Affects Your Job Performance And Productivity

By Perminus Wainaina

When you hear the term, “self-esteem”, what comes to your mind?

This is how I define self-esteem, “how highly or lowly you regard your worth and value.”

A high or low self-esteem greatly determines how well we communicate and interact with others, our outlook on life and even our job performance.

It’s possible for your job to also affect your self-esteem. Imagine working in a place where you are constantly disrespected, underpaid, demotivated and made to feel worthless and replicable?

This will most certainly affect how you perform. It will affect how you relate with others and how well or poorly you interact with the rest of your team.

A high or low self-esteem plays a very big role in determining how productive you are at work.

People with a high self-esteem also have high emotional intelligence and that’s why they always seem to advance more than others career-wise.

Interesting Read >>> Why emotional intelligence is very important in your career development.

So today we are going to look at how your self-esteem may be affecting your job either positively or negatively.

3 major high self-esteem affects your job performance and productivity

Benefit #1: You are able to express your ways a thoughts or ideas confidently.

Practicing high self-esteem at work will enable you to speak up. You will have the self- confidence to speak publicly and express your thoughts without fear or intimidation.

Whether it’s an idea you have that can allow the company to make more money or increase its customers, whether in a boardroom meeting, during company retreats etc., a high self-esteem will enable you to bring out some of your best ideas and suggestions.

On the flip side however, a low self-esteem will suffocate your ideas.

You will not have the courage to speak up because you feel or assume that others have better ideas than you.

You are also afraid of how others will perceive you or your ideas so you would rather just be quiet, not knowing that what you say could actually be of great value to you, your colleagues and the company.

Benefit #2: The confidence to make the right decisions

People with a high self-esteem are driven to follow their instincts in making the right decisions. They are not swayed or carried away by what others will say or think as long as they know that what there are doing is right.

So having a self-esteem gives you the confidence to make sound judgment; the ability to decision driven by objectivity and not subjectivity; decisions that are not only for your own good but that of others.

Subsequently, you end up receiving more leadership roles in your company and you gain the self-motivation to continue being productive.

On the contrary however, a low self-esteem means you also lack confidence. Whether it’s the confidence to speak in public, or to make the right decisions.

This Is A Must Read >>> Gain the confidence you need to speak in public today!

Benefit #3: The ability to form and maintain healthy relationships with your colleagues

No man is an island. We are all created to live communally. We need others to survive and give meaning to life.

So it’s only common knowledge that we need to form mutually beneficial relationships with others.

And this is no different in the workplace. You need to have healthy relationships with your colleagues because you need to work together as a team.

You also need to understand that a team is made up of different people with different personalities and that helps you approach people in the right way. Luckily, people with a high self-esteem do this very well.

Unfortunately, a low self-esteem will make it difficult for you to get along with others or form healthy relationships. Your colleagues also won’t want to interact with you because they perceive you as emotional or you just don’t like being around people.

And this inability to work well with others will eventually affect your work.

So start working on your self-esteem today!

Boosting your self-confidence must start from within. Recognize your value and know that others see you the way you let them see you.

Start thinking positively about your work, boss and colleagues by offering your help, showing personal initiative and becoming more proactive as well as expressive.

Attaining a high self-esteem is a journey which in the end translates into your well-being, your quality of life and your job performance and productivity.

How is your self-esteem and how has it been affecting your work?

I’d love to hear your thoughts…

6 Comments

  1. I worked in a firm where the leader was threatened by high self-esteem. To her, you were there to be seen not heard. I left the organization. I feel free. Of all organizations I have worked in, I find that Kenyan leaders have real self-esteem issues. They don’t want ‘competition’. So, the moment they see one shining, you’re out as quickly as you came in. This is different from organizations headed by whites or expatriates. They are confident in themselves, not trying to get their self-esteem from titles or positions. They don’t always have to rub it on your face that they are the boss. This is a serious and sad issue for our Kenyan ‘leaders’.

  2. Does employers really understand this episode? I doubt. I am going to share with my colleagues at work. Thanks for the motivating episode.

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