The Relationship

Between Self-Esteem
and Job Satisfaction of
Personnel in Government
Organizations
Hamid Reza Alavi
Mohammad Reza Askaripur

In this article, the relationship between self-esteem and job satisfaction (satisfaction
from the kind and the nature of work, satisfaction from the manager or supervisor,
satisfaction from co-workers, satisfaction from promotion, satisfaction from salary
and wages) are considered and examined. A random sample of 310 personnel in the
Kerman province of Iran was selected. Two valid and reliable questionnaires, the
Kruskal-Wallis test and the median test, were used in data analysis. The results
indicated that there is a meaningful (significant) relationship between self-esteem
and the following factors: The degree of job satisfaction; the degree of satisfaction
from the kind and the nature of work; the degree of satisfaction from the manager or
the supervisor; the degree of satisfaction from the co-workers; the degree of
self-esteem and the degree of satisfaction from promotion; and the degree of
satisfaction from salary and wages. There is no significant difference between the
degree of job satisfaction and its five dimensions, in the different levels of each of
the modifying variables: sex, age, salary, marriage, the number of family and the
record of service.

S elf-esteem describes one's feelings regarding his or her value, or it is to con­

sider oneself as a valuable person. This particular kind o f consideration comes
from all o f the thoughts, feelings, emotions and experiences throughout
o n e ' s life. On the other hand, j o b satisfaction is a c o n c e p t that indicates the mental
and spiritual enjoyment that o n e gains from his or her j o b through satisfaction o f
1
needs, interests and hopes.
Hapak (1935) defines job satisfaction in relation to psychological, physiological
and social factors. That is to say that it is necessary for a person to b e satisfied physi­
2
cally, psychologically and socially to attain job satisfaction.
The 20th century has been called the century o f anxiety and psychological disor­
3
ders and o n e o f the duties o f managers is considering their staff/employees' mental
health. Managers should always consider self-esteem and j o b satisfaction as two
4
important elements in mental hygiene o f the staff.

Public Personnel Management Volume 32 No. 4 Winter 2003 591

 Acquiring new skills and increasing abilities is o n e o f the important factors in cre­
ating self-esteem in staff members.
Undoubtedly, j o b satisfaction is o f great importance. There are at least three rea­
sons that managers must pay attention to the job satisfaction o f their personnel:

1. There is much evidence that unsatisfied individuals leave organizations or resign.

2. It has b e e n proven that satisfied staffs are in better health and have longer life
expectancy.

3. T h e effects o f j o b satisfaction are carried outside the boundaries o f an organiza­

5
tion, and thus the individual's private life is also influenced by job satisfaction.

Moorhead and Griffin ( 1 9 8 9 ) define man's magnanimity as his belief in the

degree o f his value and usefulness in the organization. They also express that recent
research shows that there is relationship between magnanimity and job performance,
j o b satisfaction and searching for new a job. For example, a person with high magna­
nimity may want a j o b that has a higher position, but a person with low magnanimity
6
may accept the status quo.
Individuals with low self-esteem show such symptoms as physical complaints,
depression, anxiety, decrease in general health, the attitude o f attribution o f their
defeats to others, job dissatisfaction and decrease in performance, lack o f educational
7
success and interpersonal problems.
Therefore, consider that self-esteem and job satisfaction are important from sev­
eral points o f view. Self-esteem and job satisfaction have important roles in improving
the organizational psychological climate, and the self-esteem o f the staff can lead them
to their job satisfaction.
T h e importance o f this research and the benefits accruing on doing it are as
follows:

1. T h e satisfaction o f personnel from different aspects o f their jobs is made clear,

and thus the manager can differentiate the weak points o f the organization from
its strengths and plan in a manner that allows the removal o f those weaknesses.

2. T h e self-esteem o f personnel is clarified: for example, to what extent do person­

nel feel they are successful in their affairs, their self-confidence, self-conscious­
ness, self-deprecation, etc. This in turn allows personnel and managers to treat
the probable weaknesses.

3. Discovering the relationship between different aspects would make clear the
relationship between diverse aspects o f personnel job satisfaction and their self-
esteem. Thus, if this relationship were verified, it may b e possible that increasing
the self-esteem o f personnel will increase the probability o f their job satisfaction,
and vice versa.

4. Considering the above, it can b e said that the decrease in j o b satisfaction o f

s o m e personnel may b e due to their low self-esteem, thus, by increasing their
self-esteem, an increase in their job satisfaction may b e expected, and vice versa.

592 Public Personnel Management Volume 32 No. 4 Winter 2003

 5. It is clear that there is relationship between self-esteem and j o b satisfaction in
relation to age, sexuality, being single or married, record o f service, and number
of family.

Finally, it can be concluded that people with high self-esteem and high job satisfaction
perform their work much b e t t e r than others, and thus increase the output o f the
organization, which is economically beneficial to the organization. At the same time,
they enjoy working with each other, cooperation and developing relationships, and
this is also beneficial to the organization.
Thus, the hypotheses o f this research are as follows:
Main hypothesis: There is relationship between self-esteem and j o b satisfaction
o f personnel.
Secondary hypotheses:

1. T h e r e is a relationship between self-esteem and satisfaction from the kind and

the nature o f the job;

2. There is a relationship between self-esteem and satisfaction from the manager or

supervisor;

3- There is a relationship between self-esteem and satisfaction from co-workers;

4. T h e r e is a relationship between self-esteem and satisfaction from promotion in

the organization;

5. T h e r e is a relationship between self-esteem and satisfaction from salary and

wages in an organization.

Method
In this research, the descriptive method (from the kind correlation) was used.
The statistical populations o f this research were the proficient (personnel) o f the
18 organizations and general governmental offices o f the province Kerman, Iran, a
total o f 620 people.
Three hundred and ten individuals were chosen from this population by the sim­
ple random-sampling method. Two hundred and seventy-four persons completed the
research questionnaire.
T h e instruments o f gathering data were closed questionnaire. T h e modifying
variables mentioned on the the questionnaire were sex (man or woman), marriage
(single or married), age (classified in four levels), record o f service (classified in four
levels), the amount o f salary and the number o f family.
The questionnaire o f "Izanc" (1976) was used to assess the degree o f self-esteem
o f the subjects. T h e questionnaire "job satisfaction" (Robbins, 1995) was used. T h e
validity and reliability o f these questionnaires were obtained: 0.9, 0.85, 0.952 and 0.979
respectively. Five different aspects (dimensions) o f j o b satisfaction in this question­
naire are as follows:

The Relationship Between Self-Esteem and Job Satisfaction 593

 Satisfaction from:

1. The kind o f the job (educational, business, research, etc.);

2. Manager or supervisor (management and supervision, relations and communica­

tions, decision-making, planning, organizing, etc.);

3. Co-workers;

4. Promotion in the organization; and

5. Salary and wage benefits.

The questionnaire included 4 0 questions, which evaluate the above-five aspects

of j o b satisfaction. That is, for example, to what extent personnel have satisfaction
from their salaries or from the particular kind o f the job they do, or from the decisions
of their manager in the organization.
The Kruskal-Wallis test and the median test were used in data analysis.

Findings
The mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum o f each o f the variables self-
esteem, satisfaction from promotion, satisfaction from salary and wages, satisfaction
from the kind o f work, satisfaction from manager or supervisor and job satisfaction are
presented in Table 1.

Table 1 . T h e m e a n , s t a n d a r d d e v i a t i o n , m i n i m u m a n d m a x i m u m of
the research variables

Standard
Max. Min. deviation Mean Variable
29.5 8 4.683 21.55 self-esteem
18 0 3.953 9.654 satisfaction from promotion
40 15 5.257 28.95 satisfaction from co-workers
17 0 4.477 6.894 satisfaction from salary
39 11 5.91 24.77 satisfaction from the kind of job
40 10 5.52 26.328 satisfaction from manager or supervisor
146 56 18.731 96.734 job satisfaction

Table 2 shows the amount o f statistic T in the column chi-square, the degree o f
freedom in the column DF, the real levels o f the test (P-value) in the column Sig.
The amount o f j o b satisfaction and its five dimensions is a number that each of
the subjects acquires from different sections o f the job satisfaction questionnaire.

594 Public Personnel Management Volume 32 No. 4 Winter 2003

Table 2. R e s u l t s of t h e Kruskal-Wallis t e s t r e g a r d i n g j o b - s a t i s f a c t i o n
a n d it's five dimensions in t h e different self-esteem levels.

Sig DF Chi-Square Variable

0 1 82.4806 Job satisfaction
0 1 50.9746 Satisfaction from promotion
0 1 32.0105 Satisfaction from co-workers
0 1 44.8255 Satisfaction from salary
0 1 80.6038 Satisfaction from the kind of job
0 1 38.4584 Satisfaction from manager or supervisor

Table 3. A b s o l u t e f r e q u e n c y of d i f f e r e n t l e v e l s o f s e l f - e s t e e m a n d
t h e m e a n r a n k of j o b s a t i s f a c t i o n a n d its five levels in t h e
different levels of s e l f - e s t e e m .

Mean Rank
Satisfaction Satisfaction Satisfaction Satisfaction
from manager from the kind Satisfaction from from Job Absolute Levels of
or supervisor of job from salary co-workers promotion satisfaction frequency self-esteem

166.28 179.17 168.53 163.74 170.57 179.72 141 1

106.99 93.33 104.60 109.68 102.44 92.74 33 2

Table 4. Results of t h e m e a n s test about j o b satisfaction a n d its five

d i m e n s i o n s in t h e different levels of s e l f - e s t e e m .

Sig DF Chi-Square Whole Mean Variable

0 1 72.091 95 Job satisfaction
0 1 29.671 10 Satisfaction from promotion
0 1 21.4315 29 Satisfaction from co-workers
0 1 39.3525 7 Satisfaction from salary
0 1 72.091 25 Satisfaction from the kind of job
0 1 28.6743 27 Satisfaction from manager or supervisor

In Table 5, the correlation coefficient between the variable self-esteem and job
satisfaction, and the correlation coefficient between self-esteem and the five dimen­
sions o f job-satisfaction, and the level o f significance o f the related test have b e e n
showed.
T h e results show that there is a positive relationship between self-esteem and
the five dimensions o f job-satisfaction.
T h e column (Sig.) shows that the hypothesis (HO) is rejected in all cases
(because the calculated p-value is less than the (a = 0 . 0 1 ) in all cases).

The Relationship Between Self-Esteem and Job Satisfaction 595

Table 5. Correlation coefficients b e t w e e n self-esteem and job
s a t i s f a c t i o n a n d i t s f i v e d i m e n s i o n s a n d t h e l e v e l of
s i g n i f i c a n c e of t h e r e l a t e d t e s t .

Sig rimy) Y variable X variable

0 0.6422 Satisfaction from the kind of job self-esteem
0 0.4881 Satisfaction from manager or supervisor self-esteem
0 0.4755 Satisfaction from co-workers self-esteem
0 0.5502 Satisfaction from promotion self-esteem
0 0.5617 Satisfaction from salary self-esteem
0 0.7055 Job satisfaction self-esteem

Results
The analysis o f the data, as described in the previous section, specified the following
results:

1. T h e r e is a significant and meaningful relationship between self-esteem and the

job satisfaction o f personnel. This positive relationship coefficient shows that the
personnel with high self-esteem have m o r e j o b satisfaction as compared with
personnel with low self-esteem. Therefore, the main hypothesis o f this research
was accepted and confirmed.

2. There is a significant (meaningful) relationship between self-esteem and the sat­

isfaction from the kind and the nature o f j o b . T h e correlation coefficient
between self-esteem and the satisfaction from the kind and the nature o f the job
is (r = 0 . 6 4 2 2 ) . This positive relationship coefficient shows that personnel with
high self-esteem as compared with personnel with low self-esteem have more
satisfaction from the kind and the nature o f their jobs. Thus, the first secondary
hypothesis o f this research was verified.

3. There is a significant relationship between self-esteem and the satisfaction from

manager or supervisor. T h e correlation coefficient between self-esteem and the
satisfaction from manager or supervisor is (r = 0 . 4 8 8 1 ) . This positive coefficient
shows that personnel with high self-esteem have m o r e satisfaction from their
manager or supervisor as c o m p a r e d with personnel with low self-esteem.
Therefore, the second secondary hypothesis o f the research was also confirmed.

4. There is a significant relationship between self-esteem and the satisfaction from

co-workers. The relationship coefficient between self-esteem and the satisfaction
from co-workers is (r = 0 . 4 7 5 5 ) . This positive relationship coefficient shows that
personnel with high self-esteem as c o m p a r e d with personnel with low self-
e s t e e m have m o r e satisfaction from their co-workers. Therefore, the third sec­
ondary hypothesis o f the research was accepted.

596 Public Personnel Management Volume 32 No. 4 Winter 2003

 5. There is a significant relationship between self-esteem and the satisfaction from
promotion in the organization. T h e correlation coefficient between self-esteem
and the satisfaction from promotion is (r = 0 . 5 5 0 2 ) . This positive relationship
coefficient shows that personnel with high self-esteem as compared with person­
nel with low self-esteem have more satisfaction from the progress opportunities
and promotion procedures in organization. Therefore, the fourth secondary
hypothesis o f the research was verified.

6. T h e r e is a significant relationship between self-esteem and satisfaction from

salary and wages. T h e correlation coefficient between self-esteem and the satis­
faction from salary and wages is (r = 0 . 5 6 1 7 ) . This positive relationship coeffi­
cient shows that personnel with high self-esteem as compared with personnel
with low self-esteem have m o r e satisfaction form their salary and wages.
Therefore, the fifth secondary hypothesis o f the research was accepted.

With due attention to the above-mentioned results, all o f the research hypothe­
sis were verified and confirmed in the error level (a = 0 . 0 1 ) .
J o b satisfaction and its five dimensions (satisfaction from the kind o f the job, sat­
isfaction from manager or supervisor, satisfaction from co-workers, satisfaction from
promotion, satisfaction from salary and wages) were tested in relation to each o f the
research modifying variables (age, sex, marriage, record o f service, the number o f fam­
ily and the amount of salary) and the following results (in the error level a = 0 . 0 1 ) were
obtained:

1. There is no significant difference in j o b satisfaction and its five dimensions

among personnel with different ages.

2. There is n o significant difference in j o b satisfaction and its five dimensions

among male and female personnel.

3- T h e r e is no significant difference in j o b satisfaction and its five dimensions

among single and married personnel.

4. T h e r e is no significant difference between j o b satisfaction and its five dimen­

sions among personnel with different records o f service.

5- T h e r e is no significant difference in job satisfaction and its five dimensions

among personnel with different numbers o f family members.

6. T h e r e is n o significant difference in j o b satisfaction and its five dimensions

among personnel with different salaries and wages.

Discussion
T h e results o f this research show the significant and meaningful relationship
between self-esteem and job satisfaction (and its five dimensions).
Baron ( 1 9 9 3 ) believes that a great number o f personality variables have a rela­
tionship with job-satisfaction. These are such variables as self-esteem and the ability to
resist stress. T h e more these variables are in people, the m o r e they will have. Baron

The Relationship Between Self-Esteem and Job Satisfaction 597

also says that job satisfaction has a relationship with the general satisfaction that peo­
ple get from life. T h e m o r e they have satisfaction from aspects o f their lives not
8
related to their jobs (work), the more they will have satisfaction from their job.
9
Biabangard says that persons' satisfaction from life is strictly dependent upon their
feelings concerning their own value. Many scholars consider self-esteem as an important
factor that can influence many aspects o f one's life, that with increasing it, the other
10
aspects o f life are changed. Murhed and Griffin define magnanimity as the degree of
a person's belief in the extent that he is valuable and useful for his organization.
Biabangard" states that job-dissatisfaction is one o f the symptoms o f people with
low self-esteem.
12
Robbins says that self-esteem and several o t h e r personality characteristics are
effective and determinant in the person's behaviors in organization.
Individuals with high self-esteem are mainly interested in cooperation with
13
others.
Waterman ( 1 9 9 6 ) says that self-esteem has not only a relationship with social
cooperation, but also with such characteristics as kindness, generosity, good will, etc.
14
Shariat nia verifies the relationship between self-esteem and job-satisfaction.
Therefore, the results o f this research about the relationship between self-
e s t e e m and job-satisfaction and its five dimensions are in harmony with previous
research and theories.
The results o f different research concerning the relationship o f modifying vari­
ables (age, sex, marriage, record o f service, the n u m b e r o f family, the amount o f
salary) with job satisfaction are different and contradict each other.
A research, in which the statistical population was engineers, nurses, teachers,
post office staff, etc. o f Tehran, showed that the variables marriage, sex, age and record
15
o f service had no effect on job satisfaction.
A research d o n e in Shiraz among teachers, and showed that women had more
j o b satisfaction as compared with men, but this research didn't show any significant
16
relationship between the variables record o f service and age with job satisfaction.
T h e result o f a research that was carried out on 80 personnel o f educational
offices in district 5 o f Tehran was that the role o f individual differences (sex, age,
record o f service, marriage, the n u m b e r o f sons) in job-satisfaction is statistically
17
insignificant. T h e results o f a research on the teachers in Tehran showed that female
18
teachers had more satisfaction as compared with male teachers.
A research conducted among the personnel o f a productive firm didn't show any
19
significant relationship between record o f service and job satisfaction.
20
Robbins believes that there is no evidence showing the effect o f sex on job sat­
isfaction. T h e r e is much evidences that shows there is a significant relationship
between age and j o b satisfaction in persons aged 6 0 , and there is a considerable
21
decrease in job satisfaction after this age. But, older personnel tend to have more sat­
isfaction from their jobs. That's b e c a u s e they acquire work experiences and their
expectation will decrease and b e c o m e more adapted to their work situation. On the
other hand, younger personnel because o f having higher and more expectations, tend
22
to have less satisfaction and adaptation.

598 Public Personnel Management Volume 32 No. 4 Winter 2003

 23
Robbins says that though there is much evidence showing that older personnel
have more j o b satisfaction, but this relationship will not continue because o f the
effecting changes on technology at the present time. A lot of research shows that the
married as compared with the single have more j o b satisfaction, but the cause-effect
24
relationship is not clear.
Since this research clarified that there is a relationship between self-esteem and
the five dimension o f job satisfaction, it is suggested to managers and employers to try
to employ those persons whose self-esteem is higher than others so that their job sat­
isfaction may be increased after employment.
On the other hand, a decrease in j o b satisfaction after employment may b e due
to decrease in self-esteem and with reinforcement o f a person's self-esteem, the
increase o f his job satisfaction may coincide, and a decrease in job satisfaction may be
due to a decrease in self-esteem, and thus by increasing self-esteem, an increase in job
satisfaction may be expected.
In summary, o n e o f the most important ways to increase j o b satisfaction o f an
organization's personnel is to increase their self-esteem, and o n e o f the best methods
for increasing self-esteem in personnel is to increase their job satisfaction in all o f its
dimensions.
Therefore, it is suggested that all o f the managers try to increase the self-esteem
o f their personnel by increasing the satisfaction o f their personnel from the kind o f
they job they do, the manager, co-workers, promotion, salary and wages in the organi­
zation. On the other hand, managers are recommended to increase job satisfaction o f
their personnel in all o f its five dimension by increasing their self-esteem.

Notes
1
French & H. Sward. The management dictionary, translated by Mohammad Saebi, the third edi­
tion, governmental management training center. (1998):339.
2
M. Askarian. Human relations and organizational behavior, Tehran: Amir kabir publica­
tions. (1999): 104.
3
M. Parva. Industrial psychology, Tehran: Enteshar Company, second edition. (1991);14
4
M. Saatchi. The applied psychology for managers at home, school and organization, Tehran:
Virayesh. (1994):7.
5
S. Robbins. Organizational behavior management, translated by Ali Parsaeyan and S. Mohammad
Arabi, V 1, Tehran: Business studies and researches institute. (1995).293-
6
Moorhead & Griffin. Organizational behavior, translated by S. Mahdi Alvani and Kholam Reza
Memar Zadeh, Tehran: Morvarid. (1996):73-
7
I. Biabangard. The methods of increasing the self-esteem in children and youngsters, Tehran:
Parents and educators association. (1997)-.79.
8
F. Vahhabi. The study of the relationship between personality type and job-satisfaction among the
three types realistic, social and impetuous, the M.sc thesis of Allameh Tabatabai university, Tehran.
(1996):68.
9
I. Biabangard, op cit, 13-14.
10
Moothead & Griffin, op cit, 73.

The Relationship Between Self-Esteem and Job Satisfaction 599

11
I. Biabangard, op cit, 70.
12
S. Rabbinson, op cit, 153
13
N. Beranden. The power of self-esteem, translated by: Mina Ezami, Tehran: Puyandeh. (1996):95 .
14
K. Shariat Nia. The study of the relationship between job satisfaction with the self-esteem among
the male teachers of Tehran schools, the M.sc thesis of Allameh Tabatabai university, Tehran.
(1994)
15
F. Vahhabi, op cit
16
M. Abbasi Azad Galeh. The study of the relationship between controls with job satisfaction among
the teachers of Shiraz, the M.sc thesis of Shiraz University. (1997)
17
M. Taleban. The social analysis of job satisfaction, the M.sc thesis of Tarbiat Modarres university,
Tehran. (1995)
18
A. Khorshidi. The study of the effect of age, sex, work experience and control on the job satisfac­
tion of teachers, the M.sc thesis of Islamic free university, the central unit of Tehran. (1992)
19
A. Mellati. The study of the relationship between service record, level of education, control with
the job satisfaction among the personnel of Zar productive factories, the M.A. thesis of Islamic free
university, Tehran central unit. (1995)
2 0
S. Rabbinson, op cit, 135.
21
A. Cohrman. Organizational industrial psychology, translated by: Hasan Shokrkon, Tehran: Islamic
culture and guidance ministry. The second edition. (1997):330
22
K. Davis & J. Newstorm. The human behavior on work (organizational behavior), translated by Dr.
Mohammad Ali Tusi, Tehran: governmental management instruction center. (1996):177
23
S.Rabbinson, op cit, 134.
24
S.Rabbinson, op cit, 135-

Authors
Sayyd Hamid Reza Alavi is assistant professor of the psychology and educational
sciences department, faculty o f humanities, o f Shahid Bahonar University o f Kerman. He
has a degree in educational planning from Isfahan-Iran University and a Ph.D. in the
philosophy o f education from Tarbiat Modarres University o f Tehran-Iran in 1995. He has
been teaching at the university level in Iran for 16 years and has published three books,
five papers, and various projects, lectures and workshops.

M o h a m m a d Reza Askaripur is with the department o f management, Islamic Azad

University of Kerman.

600 Public Personnel Management Volume 32 No. 4 Winter 2003