Emotional Intelligence In The Workplace

Emotional intelligence is defined as the ability to recognize emotions in one-self and others and to use this knowledge to improve self-management and relationships with others (Goleman, 1995). There are various definitions, but most authors define EI as a miscellaneous concept involving a wide range of skills and behaviors. EI skills and behaviors are within the area of self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation and social awareness. (Cherniss and Goleman 2001; Hood and Lodge 2004; Urch Druskat and Wolff 2001). Although not limited within the workplace, EI is definitely relevant to the workplace. However, EI first appeared in a doctoral thesis in the U.S., in 1985, by Wayne Leon Payne, Ph.D. at the Union Institute in Cincinnati. He believed that EI had a creative relationship with fear, pain and desire. This theory did not affect the world, but it did open a new concept about leadership and the role of the manager and how it interacts with those he leads. The concept of "emotional intelligence" is published for the first time in the works of John D. Mayer and Peter Salovey (1990, 1993). They are considered the "parents of the new intelligence", the emotional one. In 1995, ‘Emotional Intelligence’ becomes better known after the publication of Daniel Goleman’s book on “Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ”. So basically EI is “the ability to perceive and express emotions, to assimilate emotions in thought, to understand and judge with the help of emotions and to regulate own emotions and others’” (Caruso, Mayer, Salovey, 2000).
Some professional development specialists have created and successfully marketed EI-specific courses for business and industry over the last decade, EI training may be best accomplished “on the job” (Clarke, 2004; Van der Sluiss, Williams & Hoeksema, 2002), with skill development occurring through leadership or participation in teams, projects, or assignments (Baron et al., 1999; Blumenfield, Soloway, Marx, Krajcik, &

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