Longitudinal Relations Between Global Self-Esteem and Organizational Self-Esteem and Their Prospective Effects on Job Satisfaction and Work Engagement

Abstract

Self-esteem represents one of the most important personal resources for workers. However, the value of different forms of self-esteem (i.e., global vs. organization-specific) for work outcomes and their reciprocal associations over time have yet to be examined. This preregistered study examined (1) longitudinal reciprocal relations between global and organizational self-esteem, (2) prospective effects of global and organizational self-esteem on job satisfaction and work engagement, and (3) the role of organizational self-esteem as a mediator of the effects of global self-esteem on job satisfaction and work engagement. Using data on 1014 workers who were assessed annually during the first three years of their careers, we implemented three cross-lagged panel (CLPM) models: the traditional CLPM, the Random Intercept-CLPM, and the Latent State Trait Model. The results from the best fitting model (the Latent State Trait Model), as well as the other two, failed to support our preregistered hypotheses; instead, the findings suggest that global and organizational self-esteem are largely independent, at both the between- and within-person level, and that neither form of self-esteem has important effects on job satisfaction or work engagement.