Organizational Citizenship Behavior and Emotional Intelligence of EFL Teachers in Saudi Arabia: Implications to Teaching Performance and Institutional Effectiveness

Abstract

Many studies have extensively investigated the antecedents, consequences, and relationships of Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) and Emotional Intelligence (EI) in corporate and industrial settings, but not in educational contexts particularly in the field of English language teaching. To expand the existing literature in OCB and EI, this study investigated the levels and relationship of OCB and EI of college English teachers in an English language institute in the western region of Saudi Arabia. It tried to answer the following research questions: 1) What is the level of OCB and EI of the respondents? 2) Is there a significant relationship between the respondents’ OCB and EI? Using descriptive correlational research design with adapted organizational citizenship behavior and emotional intelligence scales as data gathering instruments, this study found that the respondents had very high level of OCB. Specifically, the findings revealed that the OCBs under altruism, civic virtue, and compliance dimensions were rated as very high while those under sportsmanship and courtesy were assessed as high. Findings also indicated that the EFL teachers had high level of EI. Lastly, the study proved that there was a significant, positive relationship between the respondents’ organizational citizenship behaviors and emotional intelligence. Based on the findings, the study concludes that the respondents have the potential to excel in their job and are able to contribute to overall institutional effectiveness. This asset should be enriched and sustained by implementing more relevant OCB/EI-friendly policies and practices that support conducive school climate, transformational leadership, and emotional well-being.