Self-Esteem at Work

Self-Esteem at Work by Nathaniel Branden. Jossey-Bass, 1998 Nathaniel Branden, a California psychologist who worked with Ayn Rand for many years, has written a book about how the business environment has changed in the last century. His overall point is that today's work environment makes personal and psychological demands on workers at all levels, something that was not true at the beginning of the manufacturing age.

His argument is that companies who have employees who function in a psychologically healthy ways will be the most competitive because of the many demands made on a person's intellect and personality in today's working world. He lays out his view of the importance of self-esteem in the work place from the beginning of the book. He uses the often repeated phrase that we are now in the "information age" instead of a manufacturing, and points out some of the stressful elements of this shift.

He notes, "The United States has shifted from a manufacturing society to an information society .. We now live in a global economy characterized by rapid change, accelerating scientific and technological breakthroughs, and an unprecedented level of competitiveness." (p. 1) Such demands require higher educational levels, as well as expanded training, of all employees. This is a major change from the first half of the 20th century, where many workers learned to do their job, did their job, and then went home.

When Henry Ford first invented the assembly line, workers did not need a high school education to do their job on the line, whether it was attaching a door or helping to install an engine. However, these jobs diminish in numbers with every passing year, and in addition, more and more are sent overseas. The types of jobs now available in the United States require a high school diploma at the very minimum, and more and more jobs require some computer expertise.

Thus the extra demands made on us have sifted down to every level of employees in today's businesses. The author notes that accompanying these changes has been a demand of all employees that they be able to work more independently and make more discretionary decisions. All of these make extra demands on every facet of our psychology from intelligence to education to interpersonal skills. The most competitive companies will be the companies with the highest number of employees who work well in these multi-facted ways.

During the first half of this century, people could find work by concentrating on their physical abilities. In today's information, it's the mind that becomes dominant. Without strong sense of self-esteem, people will be at a disadvantage in such a millieu. Branden points out that pinpointing the positive effects on the bottom line of employees with good self-esteem and negative effects on the bottom line of employees with poor self-esteem cannot be easily pinpointed. Instead, he explains how self-esteem affects how a person functions in the work environment.

He acknowledges that people with "troubled self-esteem" can compensate in various ways, for instance by becoming a workaholic. However, such a person often has difficulty taking joy in what he or she has achieved and often feels as if he or she has not "done enough," and that such difficulties often lead to interpersonal difficulties among employees. Branden's book goes beyond analyzing people to simply describe problems, and maps out his "six pillars," practices that help build and maintain self-esteem.

This is what gives his book potential usefulness to businesses, because they describe behaviors companies can encourage in employees on a day-to-day basis.

They include "living consciously," or getting fully engaged in what one is doing whether it is talking to a colleague or gathering data; "self acceptance," or taking honest ownership of one's actions, thoughts, and feelings instead of rationalization, and also avoiding excessive blame being less than perfect; "self-responsibility," or recognizing that we and only we are responsible for what we do and that we should focus not on what to do rather than looking for someone to blame; "assertiveness," or expressing ourselves honestly as we deal with others; goal-setting -- what he calls "living purposefully," or having short- and long-term goals that help guide our actions; and "living with integrity," such as speaking truthfully and dealing with others honestly and fairly.

He argues that following these principles are the building blocks of good self-esteem. The implication is that a company that encourages these behaviors in their employees, will, over time, have a competitive edge over those companies that ignore them. As the author says on page 39, "A mind that distrusts itself cannot inspire the best in the minds of others. A person who feels undeserving of achievement and success is unlikely to ignite high aspirations in others.

Nor can leaders draw forth the best in others if their primary need, arising from their insecurities, is to prove themselves right and others wrong, in which case their relationship to others is not inspirational but adversarial." In the course of making his point, Branden chooses an analogy that business leaders might not think of: the military.

He points out that the military understands that one of its most important training goals is to create good leaders who can get the assigned job (or "mission:") done; take care of those under him or her; and train others to be leaders also. To Branden, it seems obvious that businesses in the information age should follow a similar path, but argues that many do not. He makes this point by pointing out.