Leading The Positive Organization

CHAPTER 2

Organization-Based Self-Esteem: Making a Difference at Work

Donald G. Gardner, Jon L. Pierce

Much of what workers do and believe is in the service of enhancing, preserving, or restoring their self-esteem.¹

Introduction

The goal of positive organizational behavior is to create an organizational climate that promotes the well-being and flourishing of its members (the employees). Employees in positive organizations feel good about themselves and their lives. One critical way to achieve these goals is to develop a genuine, healthy level of self-esteem in employees. In this chapter, we will show that self-esteem that is based upon perceptions of self-worth while at work is one major outcome of a positive organizational climate that in turn ...