Take a moment to sit back in your chair, close your eyes and think about what sort of employer you are. If you are an employee, think about what your boss is like.

Since the late 20th century, ideas about emotional intelligence as an important managerial factor have been widespread in all types of businesses. To this day, emotional intelligence is a crucial part of managers in all levels. 

What is emotional intelligence and why is it so important?

Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to the ability to perceive, control and evaluate emotions. It is crucial for managers to manage successfully in the workplace because employees act based on the environment. There are numerous studies showing how occupational settings with managers possessing high levels of emotional intelligence mainly comprise of productive subordinates.

Self-awareness as a dimension of EI is crucial for the development of the manager as a leader. This concept is important to managers in occupational settings, because they need to be able to identify and rectify their mistakes. Also, it may help prevent a potentially hazardous situation such as falling into a million dollar black hole project. The sociologist JM George once argued that when leaders are overtly optimistic, they are more prone to be unrealistic. Thus, in order for appropriate critical thought to be applied in the workplace, managers should revisit their judgements as well as listen to the opinions of employees while experiencing high stress or negative emotions.

In a similar way to self-awareness, empathy is another important dimension of emotional intelligence that managers need to mange successfully in the workplace. Managers engage in the environment and form interpersonal relationships with their subordinates through empathy. A highly emphatic manager understands feelings of their employees when something is expressed orally or nonverbally. It could be that big slouch the employee comes into work with, or that moody atmosphere surrounding your office. In 2001, two sociologists, Janovics and Christiansen, conducted a study with a sample of 176 undergraduates in the ‘typical’ American workplace. They found a high correlation between job performance, perception (r=0.14) and understanding (r=0.30). When this idea is applied in the real workplace, the manager’s assessment and identification of a potentially emotionally taxing environment yields many advantages in the prevention of problems.

Needless to say, EI by itself is not enough for a truly successful workplace. In contrast to self-awareness and empathy, managers need social skills is for successful management so their subordinates may be enriched in spiritual and mental ways. By utilising emotions in practical ways such as galvanisation, work performance may be enhanced. Furthermore, one could fix negative moods that may have emanated from internal or external sources using social skills. Employees should be genuinely excited, rather than having a sense of doing things because you said so.

In conclusion, managerial success in the workplace relies heavily on emotional intelligence. Ignoring key aspects of emotional intelligence such as self-awareness, empathy and social skills entail detrimental consequences. Ultimately, managers and their subordinates are socially, environmentally and psychologically enriched due to emotional intelligence.

So, do you want to be the employer that makes the employee catch the train to work, or be the type that the employee wants to catch the train to go to you?