Does Emotional Intelligence Predict Workplace Performance?

Does Emotional Intelligence Predict Workplace Performance?
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Abstract
Emotional intelligence (EI) has been associated with high performance and general life satisfaction. The assessment and understanding of EI have been approached either from a cognitive process approach or a personality trait approach, as presented in the two most common models of EI. However, little has been done, as indicated by the existing literature, to integrate the two approaches in the determination of whether EI can predict workplace performance. The current study reviews existing literature to develop a framework that combines concepts from the two approaches to improve the predictability of EI outcomes. The study reveals that EI can be used to predict workplace performance under the new framework.
Does Emotional Intelligence Predict Workplace Performance?
Importance of the Topic
Workplace performance is influenced by various factors, some of which include how an individual relates to others in the workplace. This involves being able to discern and manage individual emotions as well as those of others, hence the increased research on the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and workplace performance. According to McCleskey (2014), individuals have a different ability to discern and manage emotions, and the effect of this variation is experienced at an organizational context. There have been recent concerns that a high EI can also result in negative outcomes in organizations (McCleskey, 2014; Chamorro-Premuzic&Yearsley, 2017). However, a huge concern surrounds the issue of variability between the two approaches, trait EI and ability EI, and how they can be blended to improve predictability of EI outcomes, especially in workplace performance.
What’s known and not known about the Topic
Emotional intelligence (EI) is often operationalized as the understanding, perceptions, and management of emotions of an individual and those around the individual (Schutte&Loi, 2014). We believe there exists a relationship between EI and workplace performance. Both of these constructs can be measured using different measures. EI is measured using performance tests (Schutte&Loi, 2014), while workplace performance is measured using various employee performance metrics. Individuals who have high EI have better interpersonal skills and have more satisfying lives. However, it is not clear whether being emotionally intelligent is better than being generally intelligent (Murphy, 2013), and as such it is imperative to determine this, especially in the organizational context. Further, there is little research on the negative influence of high EI such manipulation of others due to the high ability to understand and manage their emotions. How such influence affects workplace performance on the part of the individual and those around him is an interesting area that needs more attention.
Overview of the Literature Review
Most of the existing literature focuses more on either the ability EI approach or the trait EI approach to emotional intelligence. The current research focuses on how the two approaches can be harmonized to increase EI predictability, especially when it comes to workplace performance, thus providing...