Workplace Self-Expansion: Implications for Job Satisfaction, Commitment, Self-Concept Clarity, and Self-Esteem Among the Employed and Unemployed

• Published in: Basic and applied social psychology Vol. 36; no. 1; pp. 59 - 69
• Main Authors: McIntyre, Kevin P., Mattingly, Brent A., Lewandowski, Gary W., Simpson, Annie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia, PA Taylor & Francis Group 01.01.2014; Taylor & Francis; Psychology Press
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Commitments; Dating; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Identity; Job Satisfaction; Losing; Motivation. Job satisfaction. Attitude; Occupational psychology; Personality. Affectivity; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Salaries; Self Concept; Self Esteem; Self representation; Selfconcept; Selfesteem; Skill development; Skills; Sociodemographic Factors; Unemployed people; Workplaces; Social environment; Human; Occupational environment; Correlation analysis; Personality; Self esteem; Job satisfaction; Self concept
• ISSN: 0197-3533; 1532-4834
• DOI: 10.1080/01973533.2013.856788

Similar to how individuals in close relationships incorporate aspects of their partner into their self-concept, we suggest that jobs promote self-expansion when they lead people to develop skills and assume new identities. In Study 1, we sampled currently employed individuals, and results show that self-expansion predicts job satisfaction and commitment, even when controlling for salary, tenure, and demographic variables. In Study 2, we examined the impact of losing a self-expanding job by sampling currently unemployed individuals, and results show that losing a self-expanding job results in lower amounts of self-concept clarity and self-esteem.