EQ in the workplace has been the subject of recent studies ...
One study looked at workplace incivility ... Here is the research:
'Workplace incivility is relates to 'discourteous interactions between employees that violate norms of mutual respect' (Cortina, Magley, Williams, & Langhout, 2001; Martin & Hine, 2005).
Such behavior can involve expression of hostility, privacy invasion, exclusionary behavior, and gossiping (Martin & Hine, 2005).
Incivility in the workplace is common and is associated with a variety of undesirable outcomes (Andersson & Pearson, 1999; Cortina & Magley, 2001; Johnson & Indvik, 2000).
Being the target of uncivil behavior is associated with lessened well-being, greater psychological distress, less satisfaction with coworkers and supervisors, and more avoidance of workplace responsibilities (Martin & Hine, 2005).
To date, there has been no published research directly assessing the relationship between EQ and workplace incivility.
However, there is evidence that high EQ is associated with leadership effectiveness (Rosete & Ciarrochi, 2005), particularly the ability to foster cohesive workgroups and to enhance the self-esteem of workers (Abraham, 2005). Further, higher EQ has been found to be associated with better general interpersonal relationships (Lopes et al., 2004; Schutte et al., 2001).
Together, these findings suggest the possibility that EQ may play a role in shaping positive social relations within the workplace.
It seems reasonable to predict that interventions designed to increase an aspect of EQ—namely;
- self-efficacy—in recognizing and managing the emotions of self and
- awareness of others - may reduce incivility in work environments.
- furthermore individuals with higher self-efficacy of this type may be more likely to recognize and ward off incipient incivility and be less likely themselves to deal with others in an uncivil manner.
What is exciting is that the research shows that there is hope for those wanting to develop themselves and it's using the relatively simple tool of expressive writing ...
The 'expressive-writing paradigm' as it is known ... Involves participants writing about their deepest thoughts and feelings relating to an aspect of life for 3 or 4 consecutive days.
Studies utilizing this paradigm have shown that individuals who write about meaningful emotional experiences, ranging from traumatic events (Lepore, Greenberg, Bruno, & Smyth, 2002) to life goals (King, 2001) to romantic relationships (Slatcher & Pennebaker, 2006) to intensely positive experiences (Burton & King, 2004), show improved outcomes ranging from better mood to improved physical health. Writing about emotional aspects of meaningful events may encourage cognitive processing, desensitize the effects of worrisome memories, and provide a sense of mastery (King, 2001, 2002; Lepore et al., 2002; Pennebaker, 2002).
Writing may also bring about beneficial outcomes by encouraging reflection and cognitive restructuring, as well as through the process of verbalizing thoughts and emotions.
As previous research has suggested that expressive writing is an effective method for inducing a variety of positive outcomes (Frattaroli, 2006), this approach may hold promise for increasing emotional self-efficacy.
The present study uses the expressive-writing approach to encourage reflection on the sources of self-efficacy proposed by Bandura (1997) applied to the emotional skills of employees.
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I've included all the references you will have noted ... It's such a burgeoning subject I felt it was important to show you there's a substantial amount of research being carried that shows EQ is now a fundamental component for all of us in the workplace
Do you think your workplace needs to focus on development of emotional intelligence in its manages and in its workers?
Have you ever tried self development for the purpose of developing your emotional intelligence?
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