9.4 Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is a person’s awareness of their emotions and the emotions of others and how well they can control and express themselves and read those of others. Emotionally intelligent people can maintain interpersonal relationships with thoughtful consideration and rational insights.
Emotional intelligence is not simply whether or not someone is emotional but rather how well they handle their interpersonal skills and the emotions of others. It is extremely important in the workplace to reduce conflict and create a more stable and effective workplace environment.
According to psychologists Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer, there are four levels of emotional intelligence—perceiving, reasoning, understanding, and managing emotions. Perception, reason, understanding, and management are all essential skills to be considered when determining emotional intelligence. Being able to navigate these four levels is indicative of a person with high emotional intelligence. Often, people think of intelligence and emotion as mutually exclusive skills; however, emotional intelligence is an essential form of intelligence that determines a person’s interpersonal skills and ability to work well with others, problem-solve, and build relationships. Each skill is highly effective and valuable in the workplace and helps foster a productive and engaged work environment.
The typical workday requires a large number of decisions to be made. Many of these decisions are emotionally charged in some way, with passion and opinions behind them. Employees with vital emotional intelligence are likelier to make rational and well-thought-out decisions. Emotional intelligence is a highly desirable trait for new and tenured employees alike. Many companies ask behavioural-based interview questions to assess emotional intelligence and make better-informed hiring decisions.
“Emotional Intelligence” from Human Resources Management by Nina Burokas is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.—Modifications: Edited; Removed video.
