Francis, L. P., & Silvers A.
(2000).
Americans with disabilities : exploring implications of the law for individuals and institutions.
"The key mediating concept here is self-respect. Suppose we agree with Rawls that self-respect is a vital primary good, something of great importance that any rational person is presumed to want. Now, given actual human psychology, self-respect is—to a considerable degree—dependent on other people's affirmation of one's own worth. And in modern advanced societies, employment, earnings, and professional success are, for better or worse, positively correlated with social assessments of an individual's value. Further, beyond the reactions of other people, work and career identifications form significant parts of some people's conceptions of themselves and their own worth; hence these identifications may contribute directly to the creation and sustenance of self-respect, and their absence will frequently have the opposite effect." (p. 179)
Berry, L. L.
(1995).
On Great Service: A Framework for Action.
"Job-relevant learning is a good tonic that helps human beings overcome the repetitiousness, fatigue, 'onstage' pressures, and sense of powerlessness that accompany many service roles. Personal growth is a source of self-esteem for people in jobs that can burn up esteem as though it were jet fuel." (p. 189)
McKay, M., & Fanning P.
(1994).
Self-Esteem : A Proven Program of Cognitive Techniques for Assessing and Improving.
"Within a given profession or social level, our culture next awards worth based on accomplishments. Getting a raise, a degree, a promotion, or winning in a competition are worth a lot. Acquiring the right house, car, furnishings, boat, or college education for your kids—all those accomplishments are worth a lot, too. If you get fired or laid off, lose your home, or in any other way slip down the accomplishment ladder, you are in deep trouble. You lose all your counters and become socially worthless.
Buying into these cultural concepts of worth can be deadly. For example, John was a bank examiner who equated his worth with his accomplishments at work. When he was late in meeting an important deadline, he felt worthless. When he felt worthless, he got depressed. When he got depressed, he worked slower and missed more deadlines. He felt more worthless, got more depressed, worked less diligently, and so on in a deadly downward spiral." (p. 88)