Confidence in your role will make you a better co-worker

According to research, workers who are confident about their roles and abilities will be more willing to help others, go the extra mile or improve their workplace’s atmosphere.

Aston University’s study found that employees who have greater self-efficacy or confidence are more likely engage in positive “citizen performances” at work.

The study was published in the Journal of Personality and Individual Differencs, and drew data from more than 50,000 employees from multiple industries.

The study was led by Professor Roberta Fida of Aston Business School’s organisational behavior and psychology department. It examined the relationship between self efficacy and “citizenship work behaviours and counterproductive action”.

This includes behaviours that extend beyond the formal job role, such as speaking up and voicing concerns or helping your colleagues.

The research showed that employees with higher levels of self-efficacy are “significantly more likely” to be involved in civic performance.

The research concluded that greater self-efficacy helped protect workers against counterproductive workplace behaviors, such as disengagement and misconduct.

The study found that employees who feel more confident about themselves and their roles are less likely to be stressed at work.

Organisations that have successfully increased and nurtured self-efficacy by implementing targeted training programs and policies supportive of the workplace are more likely to report an engaged workforce, a reduced level of workplace misconduct and a more ethical climate.

“Our findings show that self-efficacy not only predicts task performance, but is also a major factor in shaping a worker’s overall behaviour at work,” explained Professor Fida.

Employees who are confident in their abilities to succeed will be more likely to take the initiative, to contribute positively to their team, and to resist pressures which could lead to unethical, or counterproductive, actions.

“Encouraging employees’ self-efficacy is not only beneficial to them – it also has profound implications for the organisational culture.” She added that our study shows that organizations that invest in improving employees’ self efficacy will likely see improvements in performance and ethical behavior.

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