Relevance of Emotional Intelligence for Effective Job Performance: An Empirical Study

Abstract

There has been an increase in interest in ‘emotional intelligence’ within the Indian organization system in recent years. This increase has been attributed to the popularization of the construct of emotional intelligence in the research area. The promotion of emotional development in corporate organizations assumes that the ability to regulate emotions is a positive trait, which is associated with positive workplace performance. There is however, currently, little evidence to support the existence of such a relationship. The aim of the current study was to explore the relationship between emotional intelligence and workplace performance among corporate executives. The research was carried out in various organizations in Delhi NCR. A questionnaire design was used to explore whether there was a relationship between emotional intelligence scores and scores from performance assessment checklist for a sample of 90 males and females from different streams of population were taken. The relationship was explored using an analysis of correlation. The effect of demographic variables, e.g., gender, academic qualification, and work experience on EI score were also explored. The analysis found statistically significant positive correlations between scores on the emotional intelligence scale and scores on the performance scales. This means that increased emotional intelligence scores were associated with increased performance among executives working in various sectors. These results provide evidence of the concurrent validity of the emotional intelligence scale and also support the notion that emotional intelligence is associated with more or less workplace performances. The causal nature of this relationship cannot be inferred from the current study and further research is recommended to explore alternative explanations for this relationship. Out of the different demographic variables, only work experience was found to correlate positively with EI score. Experienced executives scored significantly higher on EI scale compared to less experienced executives. The results of the study are discussed within the context of the limitations of the current study and findings from previous research. The implications of the findings for organizations, policy makers, HR professionals, trainers, and future research are reflected upon.