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The Interrelationships Amongst Identification with the "In Group" at Work, Self-Esteem, and Job Satisfaction in the Context of Social Identity Theory

Project Completed at Valparaiso University by:
Jesse Bowman
Amanda Elston
Elizabeth Oie

Abstract
Following concepts outlined in Tajfel and Turner's Social Identity Theory (1986), we were interested in observing correlations amongst identification with the "in group" at work, self-esteem, and job satisfaction. A questionnaire was administered to 95 participants, who were asked to answer questions relating to the three topics. After the data had been collected, several of the questions were grouped into a self-esteem subcategory and four subcategories relating to identification with the "in group," and correlational tests were run. The results showed positive correlations between, among other things, "in group" identification and job satisfaction, "in group" identification and self-esteem, and self-esteem and job satisfaction.

Introduction
Although diversity is a defining characteristic of the world we live in today, most of us, with the exception of lottery winners and those lucky few inheriting a cushy family nest egg, share a common concern: the need to earn a living. In the name of this necessity, we spend a great deal of our adult, and often young adult and/or elderly lives, working. For those of us who are satisfied with our jobs, going to work, although not necessarily our favorite thing to do, can be both fulfilling and enjoyable. At the same time, dislike towards one's occupation can result in an ongoing source of frustration and yearning for something better. In this study, we wish to examine the concept of job satisfaction in the context of Tajfel and Turner's Social Identity Theory (1986). As such, an explanation of the theory is in order.

Social Identity Theory examines the ways we relate to and find our niche in the world around us. In so doing, we utilize three major techniques: categorization, identification, and comparison. The first concept, categorization, occurs when we place ourselves into groups to gain a greater understanding of our social environment. These groups give us a point of reference, from which we can recognize our role in society. Identification, the second aspect of the theory, builds off our previous categorization. Indeed, one of the ways in which we identify ourselves is our belonging to a certain group. We view those within the same group as similar to ourselves, while those in other groups are looked upon as different. If our group is generally viewed as the so-called positive or "in group," we will have a positive social identity. If, on the other hand, our group is thought of as the negative or "out-group," our social identity will be negative. The final idea, comparison, utilizes the other two concepts and ties the theory together. Tajfel and Turner (1986) suggest that high self-esteem is vital to our everyday functioning, and thus we seek to attain it. The way in which we do this, according to Social Identity Theory, is by comparing our own group to other groups, according to criteria which portray our own group in a positive light. For example, suppose a baseball manager wishes to compare his professional competency with another manager, whose team he has defeated in three out of four meetings. According to Tajfel and Turner, he will base his comparison on the number of victories, equating a greater number with higher competency. When we make comparisons which favor the group to which we belong and identify with, we enhance our self-esteem.

Social Identity Theory, with its concepts of group identification and self-esteem, has some very interesting applications to the study of the workplace and job satisfaction. Our hypothesis is two-fold. First, we believe that identification with the "in group" at the workplace will be positively correlated with job satisfaction. Furthermore, we believe that identification with the "in group" will positively correlate with self-esteem, which will, in turn, be positively correlated with job satisfaction.

Method

Participants
Ninety-five acquaintances of students in the Industrial Organizational Psychology Class were participants in the study. It was a sample of convenience, and no one received compensation for participation.

Materials
The researchers used thirteen questions for their survey that were adapted from a study completed by Rolf van Dick and Ulrich Wagner (2002) (see Appendix A). All of the questions fit into one of five categories: Self-Esteem, Self-Categorization, Affective Occupation Identification, Contribution to the Team, and Evaluative Identification. These categories are explained in the discussion section.

Results
The responses were collected from 95 participants. Forty-nine percent of the participants filled out the survey pertaining to a temporary job they currently have, 34.4% were actually in a career, and for 16.7% of the respondents it was unclear. Of the participants, 52.2% were between the ages of 18 and 21 with the mode age being 20, which could explain why so many individuals only have temporary jobs. Nonetheless, the respondents ranged from 18 to 67 years old. This results in a mean age of 30 with the standard deviation of 14.49. Of all the participants, the mode for the hours worked a week is 40 with 22.9% working that much. However, the data ranges from 3 hours a week on up to 112. This data results in 33.69 for the mean hours worked a week with the standard deviation of 17.77.

Correlation coefficients were computed for each of the means from the categories Self-Esteem, Self-Categorization, Affective Occupation Identification, Contribution to the Team, and Evaluative Identification. These were crossed with other descriptive categories including age, gender, and satisfaction with coworkers, their supervisor, pay, and their job. The researchers hypothesized that will be a strong correlation between one’s level of identification with the in-group and their job satisfaction. The participants’ identification with the in-group is made up of the mean responses for each of the following categories: Self-Categorization, Affective Occupation Identification, Contribution to the Team, and Evaluative Identification. The researchers also hypothesize that identification with an in-group will lead to higher self-esteem and this will in turn lead to higher job satisfaction. This can be seen through the Self-Esteem mean. The hypothesis was supported through the correlation coefficients that were calculated, resulting in significant results between the effect the ratings in these categories have on job satisfaction.

There was a correlation between age and Affective Occupation Identification, r(93)=.26, p<.05, but there was no significance when age was crossed with any of the other four categories. When a correlation coefficient was run between gender and the five categories, all of them were significant. When it was crossed with Self-Esteem, the results were r(93)=.28, p<.01. With Self-Categorization r(93)=.31, p<.01 and for Evaluative Identification Mean r(93)=.26, p<.05. The results for Affective Occupation Identification Mean were r(93)=.21, p<.05 and for Contribution to the Team r(93)=.24, p<.05.

There were also significant correlations when the five categories were crossed with satisfaction with coworkers. Self-Esteem Mean and satisfaction with coworkers yielded results of r(92)=.30, p<.01, for Self-Categorization it was r(92)=.33, p<.01, Evaluative Identification Mean was r(92)=.47, p<.01, Affective Occupation Identification Mean resulted in r(92)=.43, p<.01, and Contribution to the Team was r(92)=.46, p<.01.

Overall job satisfaction was also crossed with the five categories yielding the following results: Self-Esteem r(93)=.42, p<.01, Self-Categorization r(93)=.27, p<.01, Evaluative Identification Mean r(93)=.50, p<.01, Affective Occupation Identification Mean r(93)=.68, p<.01, and Contribution to the Team r(93)=.61, p<.01.

The last correlation coefficients that were run were crossing each of the five means with one another. There was a strong correlation between all of these crosses that can be seen in Table 1.

Data that shows to be significant, but does not pertain to our particular theory, are the results of the descriptive statistics of age and gender. The data shows that age is significantly correlated with affective occupation identification, but has no real effects on any of the other categories. This effect could be attributed to the fact that the majority of the individuals that submitted questionnaires were college-aged students, ranging in ages from 18-21. Gender is also seen to have significant effects on the all five categories. The results do not show which gender is more inclined to have higher levels or lower levels of the categories, so, in this particular study, assumptions cannot be made about whether males or females have higher levels of job satisfaction.

The data that is specifically relating to the main processes of the social identity theory, in terms of job satisfaction with coworkers, looks to be very significant. Overall, the data shows that a person’s satisfaction with his/her coworkers affects their overall self-esteem, tendencies towards categorization within the work environment, identification with the job and its employees, and also their level of contribution to the work team. In application to the real world, this would seem like an obvious assumption about work in general: the more people get along with their coworkers, the better they feel about the job and the better they perform. This particular area of data shows that when an employee is satisfied with the people they work with, it positively affects their own self-worth. This idea can also be reversed. If an employee already has a high level of self-esteem, already has tendencies to categorize themselves and identify in the work environment, already identifies with the job itself and contributes to the team, the higher the tendency will be for them to have pleasant work relationships with their coworkers.

The results of other data can be seen in the same way. The data shows high correlations with overall job satisfaction and all of the five categories. The data shows that an individual’s level of self-esteem, identification with the job and the employees, and their contribution to the team affects their overall job satisfaction. It could also be that a person’s self-value and identification comes from their satisfaction within their workplace.

The results show that the five categories are individually correlated with one another as well. This data can be seen as a spider web, all linking together. The highest correlation of this set of data shows that the affective occupation identification mean is strongly related to one’s contribution to the team. The more one identifies with the job itself, the more they desire to contribute to the well being of the organization. This data can just be followed across the table. The more one desires to contribute to the team, the higher they evaluate themselves. The higher one evaluates themselves, the higher their tendencies to self categorize would be . The higher the tendency for self-categorization is, the higher the self-esteem, or self-worth. All of these have individual affects on job satisfaction, and they all work together and for each other to create a good work environment. In relation to real world application, this is useful data for employers who are hiring, for employers who are working to create a good work environment for their employees, for employers to work on aspects of training programs, and especially for employees who want to make the best of their work experience.

There were a few limitations to our study that do have effects on the results of the data, the biggest being the age of the individuals that answered these questionnaires. Out of the 96 individuals that were given these questionnaires, the majority was between the ages of 18 and 22. Given that college students were doing this study, many students gave out the questionnaires to fellow students. At the ages between 18 and 22, individuals are not likely to be working in their permanent career field. They are mainly holding temporary jobs that have nothing to do with the actual field of their study. People in this age group have not had the work experiences of those that have been in their careers for half their lives already. The age also greatly affects the number of hours that one works in a week. People that are in school tend not to work normal job hours. In the descriptive statistics, however, 22.9 percent of the subjects recorded that they do work 40 hours a week. This could be because students are considering schoolwork as work. This could also be due to the fact that almost 50 percent of the subjects were between the ages of 18 and 22, and the majority of the remaining subjects of different ages were the only subjects to record working 40 hour weeks.

Regardless of these limitations, the results turned out favorably. These findings suggest that job satisfaction can be predicted by looking at an individual’s levels of self-worth and value. Also, these findings imply that employers can create a productive and pleasant work environment by keeping in mind these elements that affect job satisfaction.

References
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J.C. (1986). The Social Identity Theory of Intergroup Behavior. In W.G. Austin & S. Worchel (Eds.), Psychology of Intergroup Relations (pp.7-24). Chicago: Nelson-Hall.

van Dick, R., & Wagner, U. (2002). Social Identification among school teachers: Dimensions, foci, and correlates. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 11(2), 129-149.

Appendix A
This survey is concerned with experiences had within the workplace.
Please refer to the following scale when responding to the statements below.

1=strongly disagree
2=disagree
3=neither agree nor disagree
4=agree
5=strongly agree

1. I have what it takes to be a productive worker 1 2 3 4 5

2. I identify with my fellow employees 1 2 3 4 5

3. When I look at the employees within the organization I work for, 1 2 3 4 5
there is little to be proud of

4. I would rather belong to another occupational group 1 2 3 4 5

5. I think I contribute to the good reputation of the organization 1 2 3 4 5

6. I think and act like others in my organization 1 2 3 4 5

7. I think I have good qualities for my present job 1 2 3 4 5

8. I have only little respect for my coworkers within the organization 1 2 3 4 5

9. In general, I feel good about being in my current profession 1 2 3 4 5

10. In general, I feel good about being involved in the organization 1 2 3 4 5

11. Looking at the work I produce, there is nothing to be proud of. 1 2 3 4 5

12. I often regret being in my current profession 1 2 3 4 5

13. I would rather be in another organization 1 2 3 4 5

Table 1

	Self-Esteem Mean	Self-Categorization Mean	Evaluative Identification Mean	Affective Occupation Identification Mean	Contribution to the Team Mean
Self-Esteem Mean
Self-Catergorization Mean	.33**
Evaluative Identification Mean	.52**	.44**
Affective Occupation Identification Mean	.52**	.41**	.78**
Contribution to the Team Mean	.64**	.39**	.69**	.79**

*=p<.01
n=95

For more information on Social Identity Theory, consult the following links:

Social Identity Theory 1
Social Identity Theory 2