The Interaction Effect of Emotional Intelligence and Emotional Labor on Job Satisfaction: A Test of Holland’s Classification of Occupations

Abstract

Emotional intelligence (EI) has been an emerging topic for psychological, educational, and management researchers and consultants in recent years. In general, EI has been defined as the ability to perceive, understand, and manage one’s emotions (Salovey, Hsee, & Mayer, 1993; Salovey & Mayer, 1990). Although lacking solid research supports, proponents of the EI concept argue that EI affects people’s physical and mental health as well as career achievements (e.g., Goleman, 1995). Some emerging leadership theories also imply that emotional and social intelligence are even more important for leaders and managers because cognitive and behavioral complexity and flexibility are important characteristics of competent leaders (Boal & Whitehead, 1992). How-ever, up to now, there has beenlittle empirical evidence in the literature about the relationship between EI and job outcomes such as performance and job satisfaction. There are at least three major reasons for such lack of empirical evidence. First, as a new construct, scholars have not adopted a uniform domain of the EI construct. Political sensitivity, social awareness, service orientation, achievement drive, and some other personality dimensions have been argued as part of EI by some authors (e.g., BarOn, 1997), while other scholars confine EI to the domain of one branch of social intelligence (see, e.g., Mayer, Caruso, & Salovey, 2000). Second, because different domains of the construct are being used, a simple and psychometrically sound EI measure that can be used practically in management studies has not been developed. Third, there is no conceptual framework that defines the role of EI in the area of management and its relationships with job outcomes.