Why is Emotional Intelligence important at work?

Many companies, teams and departments make the mistake of assuming that workers are like machines, as if the simple fact of paying more or less was in proportion to the probability of reaching or not reaching the objectives in terms of cost effectiveness.

The truth is that for better or for worse, professionals are not robots, and this has strong implications for the way Human Resources work.

Not everything is reduced to numbers in bank accounts, budgets or the number of sales or products created by the company. And in the same way, or everything is reduced to applying the ability to reason to provide a solution to the economic needs of organizations. We must not overlook the importance of Emotional Intelligence at work, a factor that influences both the selection of personnel and the rest of the functions of HR. Let's see why.

• Related article: "What is emotional intelligence?"

What is emotional intelligence?

For decades, human beings have assumed that intelligence is a group of skills and abilities that have to do with our ability to reason and think in logical terms, holding in our imagination and memory abstract concepts, numbers, etc. This way of defining what it means to be more or less intelligent has been useful in many areas, but over the years it was found to be insufficient.

And the fact is that if we Homo sapiens have shown a surprising capacity for adaptation and come up with ingenious solutions to really new problems, it's not just because we're good at to reason. In fact, much of this has to do with the fact that we are also capable of learning to manage emotions. Something that is fundamental considering that we are robots, and that, therefore, our emotional side has implications for our own behavior and that of the people around us.

Faced with this reality, in the 1980s several researchers in the field of psychology, including Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer, developed a concept known as Emotional Intelligence, which gained much popularity especially from the informative work of the psychologist and journalist David Goleman in the decade following. This psychological construct refers to a series of abilities that are present to a greater or lesser extent in practically all people. Among these abilities, the ones that most characterize Emotional Intelligence are:

• The ability to identify emotions and feelings in oneself (and to distinguish between them).
• The ability to identify emotions and feelings in others.
• The ability to predict the consequences of a person or oneself feeling a certain emotion or feeling in a certain context.
• The ability to understand the implications of one's own tendency to easily experience a certain type of emotion or feeling.
• The ability to modulate the expression of emotions.
• The ability to apply this kind of information in practice, to achieve individual or collective goals.

Thus, emotional intelligence consists of a set of capacities associated with how well or poorly we are able to identify, understand and manage emotionsboth in oneself and in other people.

• You may be interested: "Emotional management: 10 keys to dominate your emotions"

Why is it essential to take Emotional Intelligence into account in the world of work?

From what we have seen so far, it might seem that Emotional Intelligence primarily influences our ability to be happy and having a satisfying private life, allowing us to connect with others and establish emotional bonds adequately. But in reality, professional life is no less affected by Emotional Intelligence than personal life. Next we will see why.

1. Emotional Intelligence is key in conflict resolution

Wherever an organization exists, there is a context in which conflicts can arise relatively easily.. This is not a bad thing per se, it is simply to be expected. For this reason, given that discussions and clashes of interests will take place, it is important to know that the capacity of people when it comes to of managing their emotions is a variable to take into account, and that in the same way, this is a quality that must be present in the leaders and those who act as mediators to prevent these experiences from turning into real fights or conflicts entrenched.

• Related article: "6 keys to managing conflicts in the company"

2. Emotional Intelligence must be taken into account in the selection stage

Assess candidates, albeit more or less indirectly, on or relative to their Emotional Intelligence, will help predict your versatility when working in a team, your ability to self-motivate, your ability to manage stress at key moments, etc.

• You may be interested: "The 6 pillars of Human Resources"

3. Emotional Intelligence must be taken into account in communication strategies

In the context of Human Resources, knowing how to communicate It is much more than giving verbatim the information that objectively needs to be disseminated among the workers.. It must also be understood that every communication leaves an emotional mark, and that the ambiguity in the information given feeds feelings linked to fear and anguish.

• Related article: "How should internal communication management be in organizations?"

4. Understanding the priorities of workers requires connecting with their emotions

Many companies have problems retaining workers and offering them satisfactory incentives because there is an inability to put yourself in their place. In this sense, having strategic profiles with a high degree of Emotional Intelligence makes it possible to gain sensitivity in relation to these issues and make better-informed management decisions.

5. Emotional Intelligence can be trained

On the other hand, all companies with employee training initiatives must take into account that Emotional Intelligence can be developed through learning; it is not simply a purely innate and static psychological trait.

• Related article: "The 13 types of learning: what are they?"

Do you want to train in the field of Human Resources?

If you are interested in professionalizing yourself in the world of HR, you may be interested in the Master of Talent Selection and Management of the University of Malaga (UMA).

This one-and-a-half-year specialization program gives you the opportunity to learn, from the hands of experts from several of the most important companies operating in Spain, the Theoretical-practical foundations both of the personnel selection process and in the establishment of internal training programs, creation of incentives and employee retention initiatives talent, use of new technologies for data management in HR, job descriptions, internal communication, conflict resolution, creation of an adequate organizational climate, and more. To know more, contact the University of Malaga.