Four Tips to Boost Your Employees’ Self-Esteem

About?85% of people worldwide?have low self-esteem which leads to underperformance in their personal or professional endeavors.

Poor self-esteem in the workplace points to having fear of the new and unfamiliar which results in?unproductive work behaviors such as defensiveness, being overly compliant or rebellious. Company leaders must pay attention to team members experiencing this as they can affect other people’s behavior.?

In this blog, we understand the reasons behind employees’ low self-esteem and provide four useful ways on how organizations can combat them.

The driving forces

Self-esteem directly refers to one’s sense of belief of his/her value or worth. In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, it sits at the second-level before achieving contentment or self-actualization. This type of need consists of confidence, strength, self-belief, personal and social acceptance, and respect from others. While much of these are honed internally, these things are still greatly affected by external factors.?

In the workplace, factors affecting one’s self-esteem are:?inadequate / improper training, absence of role models, micromanaging, and belittling team members.?

When organizations do not provide their employees ample training opportunities, they feel powerless and unqualified for the role that they are assigned to do. Coupled with not having inspiring people who succeed in their work, it adds to the mental burden.

On the other hand, micromanagers and team leaders who give out extra harsh remarks to people, leave them with low morale, breeding resentment among management, poor productivity and performance.

Useful solutions

It does not take much to support downtrodden employees. The key lies in giving them space to grow for them to build confidence at work and eventually find fulfillment in the work they do.

1. Assign challenging projects.?The repetitive nature of their job and the absence of challenging tasks force them to find new roles that give them a full plate of new, uncharted responsibilities. Managers can help push their employees out of their comfort zone?to promote growth and build their confidence.
2. Recognize efforts and reward them.?Employees are not robots who are expected to produce without being given the acknowledgment they deserve. These people want the best for the company and are the reason why the organization succeeds.?Honor them for their outputs?and come up with initiatives that make them feel appreciated & rewarded.
3. Provide clear communication and support.?Giving employees the proper tools and full-out support enables them to achieve their career goals and objectives faster. Once managers notice that they have finally become confident, let them?take charge and do the tasks independently.
4. Give space to fail forward.?Employees with low self-esteem tend to overthink and feel inadequate when they commit mistakes. Assure them that making mistakes is a good indication that they are trying their best. Remind them that it is okay to fail once in a while for as long as they?learn from their mistakes.

An organization that fully understands the root cause of their employees’ lack of productivity or poor performance raises the company to greater heights. Through committed teamwork from the top to the bottom chain, no one will be left feeling inadequate.

SAVii understands this very well and is always ready to extend a helping hand as it provides you with beneficial financial solutions that empower your employees. Feel free to reach out to us anytime!