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Running Head: Emotional Intelligence And Employee Productiveness 1
Emotional Intelligence and Employee Productiveness
Eric Sisco
MBA 525 2015SP1- Saint Leo University
Running Head: Emotional Intelligence And Employee Productiveness 2
Abstract
The role of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) has started to be come more prevalent in the
business world. The expanding global economy and increase of competitors in the marketplace
has caused employers to look at different ways to evaluate and motivate their work staff. The
firms want to ensure that they are getting not only the best person for the job, but the most pro-
ductive person for the job as well. This is why the employers turn to EQ, the helps them under-
stand the employees better and gives them a better indication on how they can motivate their em-
ployees.
This paper provides a critical analysis of research conducted to show that there is a direct
correlation between employees that have high EQ and optimum performance. The research sug-
gest that employees that have higher EQ have better job performance and productiveness than
their colleagues that have lower EQ levels.
Running Head: Emotional Intelligence And Employee Productiveness 3
Introduction
In recent years there has been a drive to include more Emotional Intelligence (EQ) into
the hiring and training practices of employers. This is mostly because of the correlation that EQ
has in increased performance and productivity of the employee. Because of this there has been an
increased number of research projects to study why higher EQ raises productivity and produc-
tion, which in turn raises revenue for the company. This paper examines how higher Emotional
Intelligence can increase the productivity and performance in the workforce, and the effect Emo-
tional Intelligence has on motivation.
Emotional Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is the ability to understand ones emotions and manage them
effectively. Coleman defined EQ as: “Knowing what you are feeling and being able to handle
those feelings without having them swamp you, being able to motivate yourself to get jobs done,
be creative and perform at your peak, and sensing what others are feeling and handling relation-
ships effectively” (Mishira and Morhapatra, 2009). The study of EQ originally started back in
1990 with Salovey and Mayer (Mishira and Morhapatra, 2009). Later in 1995 the book Emo-
tional Intelligence by Goleman, became a best seller and generated widespread interest in what
EQ was and how it could be used to create a better, more motivated workforce (Mishira and
Morhapatra, 2009).The different interpretations of EQ allows for categorization of the different
models that can demonstrate the differences and similarities amongst the interpretations. These
models can be described as follows. The first one is the ability model which is defined as the
model that focuses on the ability to monitor ones emotions and others emotions to help influence
ones decisions (Mishira and Morhapatra, 2009). The second model is the mixed ability model,
which is described as the army of non-cognitive abilities to succeed in dealing with the demands
Running Head: Emotional Intelligence And Employee Productiveness 4
of the environment (Mishira and Morhapatra, 2009). The last model, and most commonly used
one today is the personality model. This model is described as ones ability to self motivate and
regulate ones emotions to allow better decision making without allowing the emotions one feels
to overtake ones self (Mishira and Morhapatra, 2009). All of these models have a few things in
common; all compare one’s emotions to controlling and regulating one’s life (Seen in appendix
1). The mixed ability model and the personalty model work more with self reporting and being
self aware. The personality model is the most widely used model and this is the one that will be
use to demonstrate how people with higher EQ are more productive and self motivators in the
workplace. This model demonstrates through EQ one is able to recognize what feeling they are
currently feeling (Mishira and Morhapatra, 2009). They can then understand if the feeling is pos-
itive or negative and self initiate a response to move their feelings from one end of the spectrum
to the other if need be (Mishira and Morhapatra, 2009). Lastly they are able to initiate similar re-
sponses in others, to help control social interactions in a positive way (Mishira and Morhapatra,
2009). This does not mean that a person with high EQ is able to control all social situations,
rather they understand the best actions they need to take to deescalate emotional situations to
help provide a favorable outcome for the parties involved.
Personal Life
Emotional Intelligence can be used in both professional and personal life. The same traits
that give one a higher EQ score can also improve ones personal life. The common personal traits
that are seen in a person that has higher EQ are as follows: trustworthy, optimistic, altruistic, self
motivating, and creative (Mishira and Morhapatra, 2009). To advance in one’s personal life, that
person can do it so much easier if that person is a trustworthy person. Being trustworthy should
allow one to build relationships and connect with people easier than one that is untrustworthy.
Running Head: Emotional Intelligence And Employee Productiveness 5
Being optimistic and altruistic allows a person to generate interest and gain a following amongst
other people, which translates into a great leadership skills in most cases. Finally being self moti-
vated allows a person to initiate what needs to be done to get the job done, both personally and
professionally.
Professional life
The same traits that are desirable and prevalent in a person with higher EQ in ones per-
sonal life are also desirable in the professional atmosphere as well. Over the past decade there
has been more research in to ones EQ level and production, and how it effects ones ability to
lead and motivate as a leader (Mishira and Morhapatra, 2009). Although there has been a study
into the correlation between higher EQ and productive workers, there is still little know on the
exact reason why and what are the most effective ways to apply EQ (Mishira and Morhapatra,
2009).
There has been a strong correlation between one’s ability to motivate and lead and having
a higher EQ score (Mishira and Morhapatra, 2009). Hallmark communities found that the sales
associates that had higher EQ scores had an output of sales 15 percent higher than their target
called for, and the associates that had lower EQ scores were 15 percent short of their goal (Nick,
2008). This demonstrates that the difference in productivity can be related to EQ, in this case it
made up a 30 percent difference. Therefor showing that a lower EQ score can directly negatively
effect a company’s revenue. Whereas an employee with higher EQ score should produce higher
thus bringing the company more revenue.
Career and Emotion Intelligence
Research finding indicate that EQ equates for 58 percent of job performance (Nick,
2008). This indicates that even though a company may have an individual that has a high IQ and
Running Head: Emotional Intelligence And Employee Productiveness 6
a number of years of experience, they may be underproducing if they have a low EQ score. A
person’s lack of EQ can become apparent in times of recession and during any difficult time for
a firm. The person that has a low EQ will become more agitated and will not be able to handle
the stress as well as a coworker with higher EQ would be able to. The lack of EQ can turn the
workplace into a less productive one, because of the person’s lack of ability to effectively mange
their emotional state related to stress among others, thus causing the person to become less pro-
ductive and hurting the productivity of the workers around them (Nick, 2008).
Performance
The performance in a work place is driven by a number of different factors, however one
of the biggest influences is EQ (Nick, 2008). The EQ score that one has, has a strong correlation
with the performance one may have in the workplace (Mishira and Morhapatra, 2009).The Hay
Group has found that sales people that have a high level of EQ generally can generate twice as
much revenue for the firm than their colleagues can that have lesser EQ (Hay Group, 2011). This
is not only tied to just the personal performance in the workplace, but is also attributed to one’s
ability to effectively work and effectively communicate in teams. Team work is growing in the
workplace, thus it is crucial for one to effectively communicate and produce in a team setting
(Mishira and Morhapatra, 2009). Some of the character traits that help the team dynamic are
very common in people with high levels of EQ: they generally don't take on more than they can
handle; and they tend to focus on the positive strengths, they have in any given situation over fo-
cusing on the negatives that they cant change (Hay Group, 2011). With higher EQ one can effec-
tively manage not only their emotion, but also have the ability to effectively evaluate and help to
control the emotions of the team around them (Singhal et al., 2014). Research has suggested that
the one with higher EQ can motivate the team and are generally better leaders in the workforce
Running Head: Emotional Intelligence And Employee Productiveness 7
(Mishira and Morhapatra, 2009). The research also suggests that the traits that are found in good
leaders are synonymous with that of individuals of high EQ scores as well (Singhal et al., 2014).
Those traits involve, having high self confidence, a better concentration on their goals, are driven
and successful in the tasks that are given to them in the workplace (Singhal et al., 2014).
Individuals that demonstrated higher levels of EQ also demonstrated more career growth
and success, compared to their other colleagues that had lower levels EQ (Mishira and Morhapa-
tra, 2009). The research discussed that this was because of the individuals ability to establish
stronger personal connections and relationships, they were able to lead more efficiently and ef-
fectively, and in general were in better health (Mishira and Morhapatra, 2009).The individuals
that had higher EQ tended to be generally more satisfied with their job, which in most cases
leads to better performance and productivity for the managers and the firm (Singhal et al., 2014).
This happens as the result of the individual being able the manage their emotions and not getting
overtaken by their emotion. One should be able to effectively perform ones job as long as they
retain the ability to manager their emotion and not allow a stressful day to overtake them.
Leaders
It is imperative that a leader be levelheaded and not lose control of their emotions when
things go wrong. In business there are a number of things that go wrong in day to day operation,
and a good leader of a company should be able to handle any issues or problems that arise in a
calm and effective manner, while maintaining normal daily business operations. A manager that
has higher EQ can understand their employees feelings and better understand what makes their
employees “tick” thus giving them a better advantage to manage and motivate their employees
(Emmerling, 2012). If a manager understands what is important to their employees, then the
manager should be able to properly structure the reward and incentive plans to gain more pro-
Running Head: Emotional Intelligence And Employee Productiveness 8
ductivity from the workforce. Furthermore this advantage should allow the manger to put the
proper trainings in place to help raise the EQ levels of the employees themselves. The research
further discussed that a manger with high levels of EQ should have the ability to make decisions
without allowing their emotions to be the driving factor of the decision (Emmerling, 2012). This
is not to say that a good leader with high levels of EQ make decision without allowing their emo-
tion to influence the decisions in any way. Experiments have proven that the emotional part of
the brain is even involved in performing mundane tasks (Emmerling, 2012). This demonstrates
that while an effective leader still involves their emotions in the managerial decisions, through
EQ an effective manger can navigate their emotions to ensure that the any emotions are observed
but may not be a deciding factor in the decision process.
Motivation.
The mangers and leaders of an organization should be able to use EQ to effectively moti-
vate their staff and help to increase productivity and revenues for the firm. A leader cannot just
rely on the understanding of EQ and to implement in, they must also have the ability to adapt.
The business environment has one constant, everything changes (Baloch et al., 2014). A manager
should be able to have a certain level of adaptability in order to successfully motivate their em-
ployees, however if the manager has a high level of EQ, this is usually synonymous with the
ability to adapt and motivate (Baloch et al., 2014). Which the ability to adapt to the changing
business environment and the proper implementation, a management team should be able to put
the proper elements in place to motivate the employees, thus giving the firm a more motivated
productive workforce that should provide satisfactory performance. This should provide the firm
with more revenue if implemented correctly and the proper checks and balances are set into
place.
Running Head: Emotional Intelligence And Employee Productiveness 9
Employee Selection
Based on research finding there has a been a move towards testing incoming employees
on their EQ ability over their IQ ability (Mishira and Morhapatra, 2009). This does not mean that
the employers are no longer considering ones ability to comprehend as an inferior method of re-
cruitment, but rather there is a shift to take into consideration ones EQ as weighing more on the
decision to hire a candidate or not (Mishira and Morhapatra, 2009). It was found that candidates
with higher EQ are more willing to adapt to certain situations. The candidates with higher EQ
tend to be easier to train, as they have characteristics of wanting to seek knowledge and have a
way of looking at any given situation and seeing the positive side of the situation instead of look-
ing towards the negative (Mishira and Morhapatra, 2009). Hiring employees with a higher EQ
should result in lower turnover rate, and a higher employee retention rate (Mishira and Morhapa-
tra, 2009). Consider an employee with lower EQ is more prone to emotional outburst and the in-
ability to effectively control their emotional state. This could lead to this employee affecting the
work environment around them in a negative way, thus causing a stressful work environment
causing a domino effect on lowering moral and production. With this be true then the opposite
would mean that an employee with higher EQ would have the skills and ability to effectively
manger their emotional state if there were to be an incident. This means that the individual with
higher EQ would not have an emotional outburst but rather just recognize what they were feel-
ing, thus allowing them to step away or do what they need to, to rectify the situation, while not
allowing the situation to effect them or the employees around them. This would not have the
negative backlash as the scenario with the employee with the lower EQ did.
Retention.
Running Head: Emotional Intelligence And Employee Productiveness 10
The cost to implement EQ in the hiring process is costless change (Mishira and Morhapa-
tra, 2009). This has actually saved firms money with lower turnover rates and higher retention
rates (Mishira and Morhapatra, 2009). It has been reported that most of employee turnover can
be attributed to the employee not having a good relationship with their immediate supervisor
(Mishira and Morhapatra, 2009). The employees in most cases only left a previous position be-
cause of things that are directly related to EQ (Mishira and Morhapatra, 2009). Higher EQ
should allow the employees and managers to maintain a working professional relationship. It has
been researched that managers and employees with lower levels and understanding EQ tend to be
more impulsive and reactive on their emotions, thus allowing their emotions to make the deci-
sions for them (Mishira and Morhapatra, 2009). This could cause for a very stressful and toxic
work Environment. Employees that have low EQ tend to be considered more unstable, thus caus-
ing their employment retention rate to be lower than a person with higher EQ (Mishira and
Morhapatra, 2009). A person with higher EQ tends to be considered a more rational person and
level headed in making decisions (Mishira and Morhapatra, 2009). This allows the person with
higher EQ to evaluate the situation and possibly be proactive instead of reactive when it comes to
making decisions, although this person does still have an emotional response they do not allow it
to dictate their decision. This should provide more stable work environment, thus allowing for
better productivity and growth for the employees.
Training and Emotional Intelligence
Research supports that most employers would like to be able to hire a workforce that has
a high understanding of EQ already (Mishira and Morhapatra, 2009). This is not the case in most
situation. As the research has shown humans are emotional creatures, they are hardwired to make
decisions on how they feel instead of making more logical decisions based on facts (Mishira and
Running Head: Emotional Intelligence And Employee Productiveness 11
Morhapatra, 2009). This has not gone unnoticed by employers, employers have noticed that is
they increase their employees knowledge of EQ, they can start to realize increased productivity
(Hay Group, 2011). Therefore employers have started to make changes into implementing train-
ings and classes to help their employees become more familiar with EQ and how it can benefit
them (Hay Group, 2011). Recent studies have shown the wile IQ amongst the younger workforce
is rising, EQ is on the decline amongst younger workers (Smigla and Pastoria, 2000). It has been
determined that the more complicated a job is, the more the candidate must use and understand
EQ (Smigla and Pastoria, 2000). Thus if a person in a particular job wishes to be successful in ef-
fectively navigating the position, the person should have a higher EQ.
Unlike IQ, EQ is not something that one is born with nor is it an inherited trait, it can be
taught and enhanced over time. Although EQ skills can be learned and honed over time, this is
not a quick process it may take some time to gain this skill and raise ones EQ levels. In order for
one to increase EQ one must poses the desire to want to change, the native to make the neces-
sary changes, and the dedication and commitment to stick with the changes necessary to build
higher skills in EQ. There are many ways an employer can implement training to their workforce
to increase EQ. Most of the ways an employer can implement are costless steps that the man-
agers can take to help the workforce become more knowledgable about EQ (Mishira and Morha-
patra, 2009). One very popular way is by having the employees fill out self assessments and the
managers start a process of going over the results and how to implement them (Mishira and
Morhapatra, 2009). This method generally focuses on listening trainings and other methods to
help the individuals to realize when they are feeling an emotion and what they can do to slow-
down and make the right decision (Mishira and Morhapatra, 2009). The second popular training
is more formal and has a some cost associated with it. This method involves getting a speaker
Running Head: Emotional Intelligence And Employee Productiveness 12
that is EQ certified to teach what EQ is and how it can be more effectively used, and having the
individual come to the place of employment or concert hall and hold a training session to help
the workforce better understand and increased their knowledge of EQ (Mishira and Morhapatra,
2009).
Out of the two methods the more commonly used one is the first one in which the super-
visor performs more of the work themselves. This method is preferential, because the immediate
supervisors are the ones that work with the employee, thus they are the prime candidate to imple-
ment and monitor their progress to measure it against the employees performance. The supervi-
sor can note the areas that need more improvement and effectively implement them were the em-
ployee ends them. This method is also a costless one, the supervisor is already implementing
new training and the evaluations of the employee. Thus all that need be done here is that EQ cur-
riculum be worked into the material that is being taught and evaluated.
As noted in the research EQ is quickly becoming a vital part when considering perfor-
mance. Some of the main reasons that an employer may want to implement EQ into they’re
training are as follows: EQ is critical for success in more job positions, many adults enter into the
workforce with out the tolls to effectively manager their emotional state, most employers have
the capability and tools in place to train and enhance EQ skills amongst their workers, and most
adults spend the majority of their time at their job (Mishira and Morhapatra, 2009). This demon-
strates why employers should use EQ as part of the training and interviewing process for new
and existing employees.
School and Emotional Intelligence
Research has illustrated the need for EQ in he workforce, thus there has been a moment
to start training college students in EQ (Stitts, 2006). Schools have found in order to ensure that
Running Head: Emotional Intelligence And Employee Productiveness 13
they’re students have a competitive edge in the workforce they need to understand and be able to
demonstrate EQ skills (Stitts, 2006). Thus there has been a move to start to include the proper
training and classes associated with the adoption and implementation of better decision making
and how it related to EQ. The classes and training help to demonstrate to the students that what
the students feel may seem appropriate behavior, may not be the case because of their lack of un-
derstating how to use EQ appropriately in certain situation (Stitts, 2006). The classes also help to
demonstrate that the instigating factors may not come from the student at all but derive from cer-
tain responses from their supervisors in internships programs (Stitts, 2006). The classes help the
student recognize emotional responses and in certain circumstances, it is better to disengage then
to irritate the problem (Stitts, 2006).
Suggestions for Future Research
Research has shown that there is a positive correlation between high EQ and employee
productiveness, meaning that the higher the EQ the more productive the employee should be
(Mishira and Morhapatra, 2009). However there has not been much research done into why indi-
viduals with EQ are generally more productive than those with lower EQ scores. There are a
number of theories that discuss the reasoning on why an employee with higher EQ should be
more productive, and the traits that one normally observes in individuals with high EQ that lead
to productiveness (Mishira, et al., 2009). Therefore more research in needed to discover effective
ways to measure EQ and if the different ways that are currently used cause to much variability
amongst them to get accurate and effective measures. In addition there is more research needed
on the relationship between productivity and high EQ. It is still unknown on the actual reason
that higher EQ has a positive effect on production. Thus the need of more research to find what
aspects of EQ cause individuals with higher EQ to be more productive in the workplace.
Running Head: Emotional Intelligence And Employee Productiveness 14
More research is also need to determine the reliability and validity and variability of EQ
across different industries. There is little research that is done on the different ways EQ can af-
fect performance in specific industries. Future research could take supervisors and their employ-
ees across different industries and questions them about EQ to gain a base line. Then the supervi-
sor and employee could go into EQ training, or conditioning to help raise the employees and su-
pervisors EQ. This the productiveness of these employees could be measured across their indus-
try.
Other future research should conduct studies to better understand how EQ effects other
aspects of a corporate structure. For example, EQ and the effect is has on financial aspects of
business, and the implementation of new computer software. If research where to consider EQ’s
affect on these, this may help gain a more in-depth understanding of how and why higher EQ af-
fects employee productivity.
Conclusion
The research illustrates that there is a direct correlation of increased job performance and
higher EQ. The higher the Emotional Intelligence of a person the higher their ability to handle
stressful positions. This research also demonstrates that that good leaders and managers tend to
have higher EQ. While IQ still has its place, EQ has been found to have a closer relationship to
performance predictability. Maning that the higher a persons EQ the better they preform on the
job. In some studies there is question to how EQ helps to increase job performance. There is a
need for more research into EQ and how it relates to job performance and why exactly are the
driving factors that cause a person with higher EQ to be more successful. Although the research
does not cover the exact reasons of increased productivity and job performance, they have found
Running Head: Emotional Intelligence And Employee Productiveness 15
that higher EQ does fit synonymously with top leaders and performers across all industries.
Running Head: Emotional Intelligence And Employee Productiveness 16
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Running Head: Emotional Intelligence And Employee Productiveness 18
Appendix 1