The Relationship of Employment to Self-Perception and Well-Being in Women: A Cognitive Analysis

We investigated the relationship of employment to self-perception and wellbeing in women who held two different cognitive orientations toward paid work (career oriented and not career oriented) and who also varied in the degree to which their current employment status realized their view of paid work. The data were taken from a 1977survey o f a large sample o f women and included responses to questions about self-esteem, life satisfaction, and self-perception. The results indicated that career-oriented women who were employed full time were happier with themselves and their lives than those employed part time or not employed. In contrast, for women who were not career oriented, being employed was not associated with greater self-esteem or well-being. In addition, career-oriented women who were employed were the most likely to emphasize job-related characteristics in their selfdescriptions. These findings suggest that the psychological benefits of employment that have been identified repeatedly in previous research are likely to be accrued only by women who regard paid work as a meaningful selffulfilling activity.