The benefits of emotional intelligence at work

The Emotional Intelligence (EI) it is a powerful indicator of the level of satisfaction and success both in life and at work. It can be defined as the ability to identify, understand and regulate one's own emotions and those of others. That is, it is the ability to manage emotions well. Both ours and those of others.

Since Daniel goleman made famous this concept, the study of feelings and emotions has taken boom. The stresses of modern life, great competition in the personal and work area, stress and the demand for constant professional improvement, among other factors, contribute to alter the emotional state of most individuals and their well-being.

Emotional intelligence and professional development

Therefore, emotional intelligence is closely related to emotional balance. This balance not only affects personal life, but is important for work and professional development. In other words, emotional intelligence plays a fundamental role in the workplace.

Within the organization, emotional intelligence is beneficial for job satisfaction, for the 

better leadership from superiors, to reduce stress, to work in a team, etc. Fortunately, it is possible to learn the emotional skills that provide benefits on a personal and professional level and that also allow for better organizational results.

Emotional intelligence in companies

Individual and collective emotional intelligence affects the organization positively and negatively. Organizations in which their workers have a high level of emotional intelligence experience greater commitment from employees. Instead, companies in which their workers have a low level of EI have a greater turnover of personnel, higher levels of burnout syndrome, low productivity and less sales.

But, in addition, the negative behavior of co-workers and superiors (for example, fights, bad mood, etc.) also increases when there is a low level of emotional intelligence in the organization, which causes a work environment that favors stress and burnout.

Self-knowledge and self-regulation: two key competences in the work environment

The self-knowledge or self awareness It is a competence that positively affects self-confidence and success in the workplace. What's more, allows an individual to evaluate their values ​​and belief system, since in many occasions the limiting beliefs interfere in the potential and the professional development. Self-knowledge also allows you to assess your own strengths and weaknesses.

On the other hand, the emotional self-regulation it is extremely important in different areas of work, and in short it is necessary for emotional control, confidence and initiative. It is also essential, for example, to make difficult decisions by executives.

Benefits of emotional intelligence at work

Evaluate the emotional intelligence of workers can be beneficial to a business for many reasons.

In addition to those we have already mentioned, below we explain other benefits and advantages of promoting emotional intelligence at work.

1. Higher productivity

The same study revealed that 10% of the research subjects with the highest level of emotional intelligence performed better in their work than those with a lower level of EI.

Another study carried out by a Dallas company, which evaluated the emotional intelligence of all its workers, concluded that those with higher EI scores were up to 25% more productive than those with higher EI scores low.

2. More sales

In a magazine study Fortune revealed that tothose commercials that with a high level of emotional intelligence managed to sell up to 50% more than those with a low EI level.

3. Employee stability

A prestigious ranking company Fortune 500, which used the personality assessment For years in an attempt to reduce his high turnover in his sales team, he found that strategy was ineffective. So, by implementing the EI assessment, which includes topics such as stress management, self-awareness or social skills, was able to reduce its high turnover by up to 67%. The company estimates that more than $ 30 million has been saved as a result.

4. Worker satisfaction

One bank was forced to reduce its staff by 30% due to the recent economic crisis. The level of emotional intelligence of the workers who remained in the company was evaluated to place the workers in the positions of the organizational structure according to the results. Due, the bank performed better with fewer staff, and workers reported being happier in their new positions.

5. Improved handling of difficult situations

Two investigations, one in a company of retail and another in a company in the construction sector, showed that workers with high EI scores handled difficult situations better and suffered fewer accidents at work.

6. Better customer service

A luxury car sales company that focused its entire marketing plan on the customer experience, was expanding and wanted to hire suitable employees to carry out the work of offering the best possible service to the client. In the personnel selection process, the IE evaluation was used to select the candidates with the best profile. One year later the company was ranked in the top 10% of the best rated automotive companies.

7. Improve organizational communication

A study by the Towers Watson company concluded that EI improves communication with employees, which has a positive impact on the results obtained by the company.