Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Job Performance: A Study in Indian Context

TLDR: In this article, the authors examined the relationship between Emotional intelligence (EI) and job performance among middle-level management in Indian organisations. And they found that employees with high EI are better at team work, punctual, accurate, and more competent as compared to the ones who score low on EI.

Abstract: Objectives: The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between Emotional Intelligence (EI) and Job Performance among middle-level management in Indian organisations. Methods/Statistical Analysis: The sample for this study includes 685 managers from five different sectors in India (banking, power, health care, IT and advertising). The data was collected with the help of self report measures i.e. DKEIT used to measure EI and JPI used to gauge the job performance of employees. SPSS 23 was used for statistical analysis. Correlation and regression analysis was performed to find the relationship between the dependent and independent variables. The stepwise regression models provide support for the association between EI and job performance. Findings: Employees with high EI are said to have better working relationships with other employees and they reflect higher integrity (Rosete, Ciarrochi, 2005) because they can foster better and positive interactions which thereby lead to better performance (Wong, Law, 2002; Dhani, Sharma, 2016). The results of our study are in line with this and state that employee with high EI are better at team work, punctual, accurate, and more competent as compared to the ones who score low on EI. In accordance with theoretical predictions, EI along with all its components; Emotional Perception, Emotional Appraisal and Emotional Regulation was significantly correlated to all indicators of Job performance, including: Punctuality, competence, accuracy and team work. The present study contributes to a growing body of literature seeking to find the relationship between EI and Job Performance, suggesting EI is one of the best known predictors of job performance. This is one of the first studies where self report measures DKEIT and JPI are used, which makes this study unique. Both of the tools are developed in India which adds value to the study. Application/Improvements: The sample of the study is delimited to middle level management from five service sectors, which is not truly representative of all the employees in the organization and the study can be expanded to the employees of the entire organization and other sectors.