How to Build Self-Esteem Through Work

“Through work, human beings earn for themselves and their families, make a difficult world habitable, and with imagination create some meaning from what they do and how they do it.”

David Whyte

Work, if done well for a result you believe in, can create a deep sense of meaning in your life. Work drives our survival and although we are more disconnected from that than a farmer was 100 years ago, it still is the pursuit that gives our lives order and allows us to put food on the table for families.

It is hard to imagine someone with a strong sense of self-esteem who doesn’t enjoy and take pride in the work he does. The opposite side of that coin is that the wrong work, work poorly done, or a lack of work can carve away a large swath of your self-esteem.

Thankfully, the path to building self-esteem at work is simple (though not easy). The core daily actions are as follows:

1. Always show up on time — for the start of your day, for calls, for things you’ve scheduled for yourself — even if you work from home.
2. Set deadlines you can meet and meet them — give yourself some buffer time when you make estimates and make it your mission to deliver on time to your clients, coworkers, or manager. It doesn’t matter if the person receiving the work will care if it’s late, it matters that you know you deliver on time.
3. Tell people the truth — don’t hold in what you think in order to avoid conflict with your boss or the people you work with.
4. Always have something you’re learning related to your work — read a book or listen to a podcast, whatever it might be, find a way to keep learning to do your job better.
5. Take on new projects — don’t let your work become stale by only doing what your job description says you are responsible for. Find new projects and take them on whether personal or professional.
6. Don’t make personal sacrifices you would regret in the long-term — don’t stay late night after night and miss time with your kids, don’t blow off plans with friends at the last minute because of work, don’t do something you disagree with because your boss wants you to. It might make you more productive in the short term, but you pay the price in how you will view yourself down the road.
7. Get to know your coworkers on a personal level — working with others on a big goal is one of the most meaning driving parts of work. If you work remotely, don’t let the distance distract you from connecting with your coworkers.
8. Create time for yourself to think — with work, life, and entertainment we can find ourselves living a life with no quiet time to ourselves. But the most valuable thing you bring to your work is your mind. Create time for your mind to process your work and to generate new ideas. Go for a walk without headphones, journal, take a hike in nature, or drive to work in silence. Create more time for yourself to think freely about your work.