Can my Workplace Affect my Self-esteem?

Questions about self-esteem. Pt. 3

Welcome to another amazing week, I feel a burst of excitement writing this to you and this is one of those issues that I’m extra hyped about.

It’s a new week with amazing possibilities and I hope you’re starting it with enough optimism to look forward and be conscious of the good things that will come with the week.

This week, I want you to go out there with absolute belief in yourself and focus only on the things that can take you forward towards your aims and goals for the year.

We started talking about the frequently asked questions about high self-esteem and we’ve looked at the questions about money and relationships, this week, we want to dive into the question of the impact of the work environment on self-esteem and on your effort to build high self-esteem.

You need to know how to handle situations that can affect your self-esteem or hinder you in the process of building high self-esteem in your workplace.

One of the common questions I get from people is, my boss is doing this, my line manager speaks down on me, I don’t know how to handle my colleagues who pick on me all the time – the workplace is one of the places where you spend most of your time, knowing how to handle the things that affect your self-image and self-estimate from this environment is key to how well you can build and enjoy a great life.

Let’s answer the question here before we go further into specifics. Your workplace can affect your self-esteem if you don’t know how to handle the impact of the workplace and place it in the right place in your life.

The impact can hinder you in the process of building high self-esteem and can ruin your level of confidence and make you estimate yourself wrongly.

Here are some of the most important ways you can deal with the impact of your workplace.

The Definition Point.

The first reason why a toxic work environment ruins the confidence and self-esteem of most people is that the definition of whom there is tied to the job they do and not the conviction of who they are in their mind.

If the only time you find yourself useful and competent, deserving of respect and the good things of life is through the job you do, whatever happens at the job will have a major impact on your level of confidence and self-esteem in life.

To deal with the impact of your workplace on your self-esteem, you need to know the proper way to classify work and your identity as a person – you are not your job, your job is not the definition of who you are and if you can separate yourself from the job then you can build high self-esteem and sustain it irrespective of what is happening in your work environment.

Your identity is rooted in your purpose and your self-esteem must be built on your mind as you already know – your job on the other hand is simply a tool of expression, for either who you are or the things you want to do in life and the good thing is that you can always chose a different tool of expression whenever you want.

This is one of the ways to deal with the impact of the activities in the workplace on your self-esteem. You must understand the place of the job in your life and everything that relates to it.

The first step in dealing with the impact of your workplace on your self-esteem is to define yourself outside of the job – as a person, without that job, who are you?

The job is not the source of your self-esteem, it can be a tool to boost it but if you do not first realise that the job is just a tool, it will end up running your self-esteem.

Focus on Yourself and the Deliverables.

Competence is one of the core pillars of self-esteem and in every aspect of building high self-esteem, competence is one of the first things you have to build.

When you have competence, it gives you the leverage to see and carry yourself with respect and that will give you the power to dictate how other people treat you – at your workplace, being competent at your job gives you the leverage to dictate the kind of treatment you get and this is a vital way of building and sustain your self-esteem even when you’re working in a toxic work environment.

Focus on doing the best job and focus on being the best of yourself, it is easier to pick on and bully the person that is not doing a great job, but if you’re delivering the good stuff, everyone will most likely think twice before stepping on your toes.

This is why competence is one of the first pillars of self-esteem and it’s also why it comes before self-respect in the pecking order – when you’re a competent person, you’ll have more confidence to treat yourself with respect and to demand it from other people too.

The second thing you have to do in dealing with the impact of the workplace on your self-esteem is to become competent, deliver good work and use that as your leverage to demand the kind of treatment that you deserve.

Clear Definition of Expectation.

If people don’t know how to treat you from your point of view, from the way you define yourself to them, they will end up treating you the way they like and the way they like might not be the best way for your self-esteem.

There must be a clear definition of how you want to be treated and your colleagues must know this – “This is the way we do things here” might not be the best way for your growth and self-esteem, you have to define how they should do things with you and make the boundaries very clear.

Set clear expectations on how you want people to talk to you, the things you can tolerate and the things you won’t tolerate.

This is another important thing you must do for yourself in dealing with the impact of your workplace on your self-esteem. Don’t assume that people know how to treat you or do the right things by you, the truth is that, they don’t know, you have to define it for them.

Finally, this week, I want you to understand that a job is a tool and not your identity. The job can have both positive and negative impacts on your self-esteem but no matter what the negative impact is, you can always take the steps in this newsletter to separate yourself and still make the best out of the workplace.

And before we go, I want to encourage you to be the best of yourself at your job to other people, strive to always give your best and be part of the solutions moving the organization forward, and be to others what you want them to be to you, self-respect must positively impact the way you treat other people too.

It’s always a privilege to write to you every week. Have an amazing week and God bless you.

Talk to you soon again.