Journal of Vocational Behavior 13, 75-83 (1978) Self-Esteem, Race, and Job Satisfaction ELSA M. LOPEZ AND JEFFREY H. GREENHAUS Stevens Institute of Technology The present study investigated relationships between self-esteem (SE) and job satisfaction among black and white employees. The sample consisted of 523 (45% black) employees of a large, urban school system. There was a positive relation- ship between SE and job satisfaction for members of both racial groups. In addition, the correlation between need satisfaction and job satisfaction was stronger for high SE persons than for low SE persons. The relationships between two social reference variables (the perceived satisfaction of other employees and improved standard of living) and job satisfaction were, as predicted, stronger for low SE whites than for high SE whites. Among blacks, however, the social reference variables were strongly related to job satisfaction regardless of level of SE. Two employee characteristics that have been explored in recent job satisfaction research are self-esteem (SE) and race. The purpose of the present study was to investigate relationships between SE and job satis- faction for members of different racial groups. As Locke ( 1976) has noted, the role of the self-concept in job satisfac- tion is still a relatively underresearched topic. It seems that SE may be related to job satisfaction in two ways. First, SE may serve as a mod- erator of the relationship between other work-related variables and job satisfaction. This is essentially the approach taken by Korman (1970, 1976, 1977) who has suggested that high SE and low SE employees attend to different factors in determining their job satisfaction. Korman has argued that need satisfaction should be more strongly related to job satisfaction for high SE employees than for low SE em- ployees. For high SE persons, need satisfaction on a job is expected and is consistent with their self-concept; therefore, there should be a strong positive relationship between need satisfaction and job satisfaction for this group. Among low SE persons, need satisfaction is neither expected This article is based on the first author’s doctoral dissertation under the direction of the second author submitted in partial fulfillment of the PhD at Stevens Institute of Technology. Reprint requests should be sent to Elsa M. Lopez who is now affiliated with the College of Business Administration, St. John’s University, 300 Howard Street, Staten Island, NY 10301. 75 0001~8791/78/0131-0075$02.00/O Copyright @ 1978 by Academic Press, Inc. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.