Professional and Company Pride Affects Job Performance

Strong Employee “Engagement” Equals High Level Professional Pride

Employee “engagement” may be called by different names in diverse industries, within creative theories, and at various times throughout history. Commitment, dedication, motivation, loyalty, involvement, investment, and enthusiasm are among the other descriptive terms used to define engagement. These feelings also generate and increase employees’ professional pride in their jobs and companies.

Conversely, “disengagement” most often spawns low professional pride. People tend to be “actively” or “passively” disengaged, which then drives a level of low performance and company ambivalence. Active disengagement, outwardly displaying a lack of commitment and motivation, is the more damaging of the two. This level can severely affect other employees and their performance. Passive disengagement, while much more subtle, delivers no positive benefits to employee or company. These employees refrain from outwardly displaying their dissatisfaction, making their attitude more challenging for management to identify and to take appropriate action.

Engaged employees typically believe in the mission, values, and culture of their employers. More than just belief, these employees graphically demonstrate this support by their words, acts, and deeds at the workplace. They tend to also develop high-level professional pride in their job, their performance, and their rightful place in their corporate culture fabric.

Fortunately, professional pride is not a condition that can only be enjoyed by the employee who feels it. Management, co-workers, and customers will also notice, and be impressed with those employees who feel this sense of pride. This level of engagement is typically the engine that drives the professional and company pride starship. High-level commitment and investment in your job, by definition, will generate an equal level of professional satisfaction.

Professional and Company Pride Improves Job Performance

But, how exactly does one develop professional and company pride and, thereby, improve their performance? What are the typical results?

This combination seems to create professional pride that outshines the competition, further enhancing the company’s competitive edge. Employees tend to work harder—and enjoy the effort—producing better products, more effective services, and providing high-quality customer service and support.

Employees that are encouraged, rewarded, and engaged are much happier on the job and their performance improves. Employees who understand their position, receive communications about the direction of the company, and feel appreciated will usually return that company commitment with better, more dedicated performance.

While disengaged employees may “suffer in silence” for fear of being demoted or losing their jobs, those people that outwardly display their enthusiasm and loyalty to their job and their employer often positively “infect” other employees with this sense of purpose and performance. Positivity and enthusiasm is just as contagious as unhappiness and dissatisfaction.

Professional and company pride are strong motivators to a continued commitment to excellence. Much as more passive and marginal athletes perform better on good teams, refusing to let their teammates down, engaged and happy employees tend to outperform themselves when working for a company of over-achievers. As they strive to “keep up” with the other prideful employees, they begin to take professional pride in their own performance.

Those companies that value their employees, strive for superiority, and constantly give—and expect—a one-hundred-percent effort, can enjoy a staff of people with pride in their work and in their company. The most important question: Where are you in this career and corporate universe? If you do not often conduct professional self-examinations, ask yourself a few questions.

Are you convinced that you give 100% effort during a typical workday?

How do you answer people when they ask, “What do you do and for whom do you work?”

Are you engaged, committed, dedicated, and invested in your job? Or are you internally unmotivated and dissatisfied with both your job and your company?

There are no right answers, only truthful ones. If you feel a strong sense of professional pride and enjoy your job, don’t change anything. Your career progress should continue on a positive track. Be proud of what you do and for whom you do it—in addition to your personal sense of accomplishment.

However, if you feel disengaged, hesitant to talk about your job or company, know you should give more effort, or have little sense of professional pride, you should examine the causes of your current situation. Try to learn if it’s a personal outlook modification or a job change that might correct this. Understand that they could be strongly related and you should consider both an outlook AND a job change. Spending hours at the workplace with a sense of pride and accomplishment is highly preferable to merely getting through the day to earn a salary.