Role perceptions, satisfaction, and performance: moderating effects of self-esteem and organizational level

Area of Science:

• Organizational Psychology
• Workplace Behavior
• Human Resources Management

Background:

• Role perceptions, including ambiguity and conflict, significantly influence employee outcomes.
• Self-esteem, reflecting perceived self-competence, is theorized to moderate these relationships.
• Organizational level may influence the effectiveness of self-esteem as a buffer.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the moderating effects of organizational level and self-esteem.
• To investigate how these factors influence the links between role perceptions and employee satisfaction/performance.
• To test if high self-esteem buffers negative role perceptions at lower organizational levels.

Main Methods:

• Survey data collected from 161 hospital employees (professional and support staff).
• Statistical analysis used to test for interaction effects.
• Variables included role ambiguity, role conflict, self-esteem, organizational level, employee satisfaction, and performance.

Main Results:

• Two of four predicted interaction effects were statistically significant.
• High self-esteem significantly attenuated the negative relationship between role ambiguity and satisfaction.
• High self-esteem also attenuated the negative relationship between role conflict and performance.

Conclusions:

• Self-esteem can act as a crucial buffer against adverse role perceptions.
• The moderating effect of self-esteem is contingent on organizational level.
• Considering both situational and individual difference variables is vital for understanding employee well-being and productivity.