Emotional Intelligence and Work-Related Stress

Emotional Intelligence and Work-Related Stress

Especially in a period where economic uncertainty is so high, unemployment continues to be a major problem, and savings for retirement and "rainy days" have been largely reduced or wipes out for many individuals despite careful planning, psychological stress can be a major part employment and the work environment (Froman 2010). This work stress can be better dealt with and even mitigated and reduced by those that have higher degrees of emotional intelligence, studies have shown, and thus workplaces that actively work to increase the emotional intelligence of the individuals within the organization and the organization as a whole can lead to healthier, happier, and more productive workforces (Chang & Chang 2010). Unfortunately, this can be difficult to achieve as the psychological issues attendant upon work stress can act to reduce emotional intelligence, interrupting this cycle and forcing into an opposite and negative direction (Chang & Chang 2010).

The benefits of increased emotional intelligence while dealing with work stress can clearly be seen in a variety of studies involving different populations and different situations. Adolescents with higher emotional intelligence experiencing work stress during school were seen to achieve generally higher GPAs than those with lower emotional intelligence scores but similar stress issues (Hogan et al. 2010). This remained true even when the results of the direct research were controlled for scores on traditional intelligence tests, meaning that intelligence did not account for the noted differences in GPA, but rather emotional intelligence, quite possibly as an alleviator of work stress, allowed for better performance (Hogan et al. 2010).

In another study involving a population of nurses, the negative aspects ofwork stress that is not effectively dealt with is shown with a clarity equal to that of the positive benefits described above. Declines in general health and an increased frequency in sick leave were associated with higher levels of experienced work stress, which was itself correlated with lower scores on emotional intelligence (Landa et al. 2008). Interestingly, this study also showed that the age and length of service for nurses was also related to their experience of work related stress independently of emotional intelligence, with younger and less experienced nurses reporting lower levels of stress than those with longer service records (Landa et al. 2008). While emotional intelligence is a major part of dealing with stress occurring in the workplace, then, it is not the sole factor in determining how this work stress is experienced or dealt with, but rather other life factors must be taken into account, as well.