The topic of this article was addressed in WorkProud’s recent webinar featuring Dr. Jessica Tracy, Professor of Psychology at the University of British Columbia. It was also the main focus of a recent episode of No Stupid Questions, a top podcast on the Freakonomics radio network hosted by Angela Duckworth and Stephen Dubner.
Why do we pay so much attention to the importance of pride in the workplace?
Because pride is a powerful motivator. When employees feel that they’ve achieved real value and that their work has contributed to the organization’s success, they’re encouraged to continue striving toward greatness.
However, not all feelings of pride are the same. Pride borne out of actual accomplishment is known as authentic pride, and it effectively promotes feelings of self-worth and motivation. On the other hand, pride focused on building one’s ego and dominating others is known as hubristic. This type of pride breaks social ties apart and correlates with dishonesty and cheating.
Companies that want to take steps to build cultures of pride should recognize the importance of fostering its authentic form. When authentic pride is instilled within an organization, employees acknowledge their accomplishments and are able to perceive the necessity of their role. As a result, these employees continue achieving success and will likely stick with their employer for the long haul.
Pride is commonly defined as a feeling of satisfaction with one’s accomplishments. It’s considered a self-conscious emotion (like guilt and shame) in that it requires self-awareness to formulate an opinion of oneself and gauge how others may view us.
Although feelings of pride can be developed, this emotion is an innate response to success. Dr. Jessica Tracy, the world’s leading expert on the emotion of pride, has performed extensive research that reveals the inborn nature of pride.
She found that people display consistent pride expression across cultures, countries, and genders when they achieve success. In fact, athletes who are blind from birth show the same expression as others when they’re victorious: raised arms, head tilted up, and a puffed-up chest.
When pride becomes more about status and superiority than achieving real success, it veers into a category known as hubristic pride. It’s this type of pride that’s considered to be one of the seven deadly sins in Christian doctrine, and it’s easy to understand why.
Hubristic individuals are focused on domination, status, and honor. Research shows that hubristic people are more likely to cheat and lie in order to climb the ranks, and they engage in more antisocial behavior.
Yet, as Duckworth and Dubner discussed in their recent episode of No Dumb Questions, it’s important not to cast out all pride as a negative character trait. Pride that accompanies accomplishment can be incredibly positive — in the words of Duckworth, it is “the great engine of society” that powers innovation and achievements.
Employees are driven by more than just their salaries, striving to work for something greater than themselves. They seek to achieve professional success and contribute a unique skill set toward a mission they believe in. These aspirations are all reflective of workplace pride.
Workplace pride can actually be broken down into several categories, as it’s an emotion that can be experienced on both an individual and a collective level. Employees can feel proud of themselves, their team, and their company as a whole.
According to the WorkProud study, employees with high levels of individual pride are ten times more likely to be highly satisfied with their jobs. Additionally, they are 24 times more likely to stay at their companies.
Pride has also been singled out as a key factor in employee engagement. For example, according to an internal study at Facebook, the single biggest driver of workplace engagement among Facebook employees was feeling proud of their company.
When individuals feel satisfied with their accomplishments, their interactions with others and work dedication are transformed for the better. This transformation can be detected quite clearly, as it affects human behavior. Proud employees are more likely to:
Companies that prioritize the development of a pride culture are sure to witness its effects firsthand, and much of this impact is measurable. For example, employee retention, sales goals met, and customer feedback can all indicate the level of workplace pride.
Every good teacher and parent knows that recognizing children’s efforts and accomplishments is a powerful way to boost their self-esteem.
This innate need for recognition doesn’t stop when we become adults. Pride is an emotion that can and should be fostered to boost self-worth and motivate people to continue achieving their goals.
This strong connection between recognition and pride was revealed in the WorkProud Study on Pride. The study found that recognition plays the single biggest role in growing job satisfaction. Significantly, employees who reported receiving high-quality employee recognition also reported feelings of strong individual pride 82% of the time.
As child psychologists began to realize several decades ago, instilling real and long-lasting self-confidence means encouraging people to try, make mistakes, and ultimately succeed. When people are praised for their character traits only and their efforts aren’t acknowledged, they feel less motivated to continue trying.
To foster authentic pride rather than hubristic pride, HR leaders and company management should consider the following tactics:
By genuinely celebrating accomplishments, employers can inspire positive emotions in their workforce — without generating hubris. To learn more about the impact of authentic pride on company success, watch session 9 of our webinar series, The Inspired Workplace Virtual Sessions.
Interested in developing an employee recognition program that promotes pride and positive business outcomes? Contact us to learn more about our solution.
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