The Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Workplace Behaviour: A Study of Bank Employees

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of emotional intelligence (EI) on the workplace behaviour of the employees in the Indian banking sector. Banking industry was chosen for this research owing to the dynamic nature of this sector propelling a heightened need for compatibility and resilience of employees. The purpose of the study was twofold: (a) to examine if there is a significant impact of EI on workplace behaviour of the employees in both private and public sector banks; and (b) to determine if the impact is more in one sector than the other. Goleman’s EI framework (1995) and Emotional Competence Inventory (ECI) was used for data collection. Six banks were selected for this study: three from the public sector and three from the private sector as sample covering Mumbai. The findings of the study revealed that there is a strong relationship between EI and workplace behaviour of employees in the banking sector and there is also a difference of the impact of EI on workplace behaviour of the employees in private and public sector banks. The analysis derives meaningful implications for managerial policy in banks as well as for future research.