An Empirical Investigation into the Role of EQ/Emotional Intelligence Competencies in Mental Well-being

Abstract

Mental well-being, a pivotal but controversial construct viewed from multiple lenses, has been garnering attention of scholars and practitioners due to high pressure environment, a concomitant of global economic meltdown. Mental well-being is described as a positive and sustainable condition which enables individuals/groups to thrive even in adversity. It, to a considerable extent, depends on perception and management of negative emotions where emotional intelligence plays an important role (Sharma, 2007a, 2008). Emotional intelligence (EI) has been studied in relation to various workplace behaviours like leadership, employee development, performance and customer satisfaction, but there is dearth of research relating EQ/EI competencies to mental well-being. Thus, the significance of the subject and paucity of empirical researches in this sphere have provided impetus to investigate the role of EQ/EI competencies, personal effectiveness and demographic variables in mental well-being.