The sociometer theory at work: Exploring the organizational interpersonal roots of self-esteem

The sociometer theory of self-esteem (STS) argues that one’s self-esteem is affected by one’s perception of the quality of one’s relationships with significant others. Although the STS has been widely used in individual differences research there have been few investigations of its validity and value in organizational settings. Here we provide a systematic review of articles published in organizational journals that took STS as their main theoretical framework (N = 8). We then drew on STS principles in an investigation of the validity of a model in which organizational socialization longitudinally mediates the link between workers’ quality of relationships with colleagues and their levels of self-esteem. A complete cohort of 320 workers (Mage = 23.02, SDage = 2.23) over a three-year period completed a battery of questionnaires once a year for three consecutive years. Structural equation analyses corroborated our hypotheses. This contribution highlights the utility and validity of the STS in organizational contexts and should encourage researchers and practitioners to pay more attention to workers’ perception of their interpersonal environment at work (in particular during the socialization and adjustment to a new workplace) given that it may exert a significant impact on sense of personal self-worth.