Importance of Emotional Intelligence in the workplace

“Emotional intelligence is most often defined as the ability to perceive, use, understand, manage and handle emotions.”

Many aspects of the workplace require emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence isn’t just useful at work; it can also help us in other areas of our life. Understanding and managing emotions can help us have a more positive outlook on life and feel better about ourselves and our situation.

A strong emotional intelligence, according to research published in the?American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, ?“improves one’s ability to make sound decisions, build and sustain collaborative relationships, deal effectively with stress, and cope to a greater degree with constant change.” To put it another way, it helps a person to not just perform effectively at work but also to achieve a variety of other goals and ambitions in life.

It’s common for us to act on an impulse or in a way that we later regret. While we cannot change what we have said or done in such a situation, we can always have a different perception of the situation by using our emotional intelligence skills.

There are five main elements to emotional intelligence, according to?Daniel Goleman , an American psychologist who popularized the concept.

?Self-awareness

?Self-regulation

?Motivation

?Empathy

?Social skills

By applying these abilities to specific tasks and managing how we feel or respond to them, employees can use them to govern their thoughts and actions.

Benefits of emotional intelligence in the workplace:

Effective communication skills:?Employees with higher emotional intelligence are more effective communicators with their coworkers than those with lower emotional intelligence. They exchange ideas and are receptive to those of others. As the team works together, they are respectful and thoughtful.

Empathy & compassion take us a long way:?Compassion helps a person connect emotionally with others. The ability to maintain and exhibit compassion and empathy for fellow humans is one of the most important benefits of emotional intelligence, both in the workplace and in one’s personal life.

Better understanding, stronger connections:?Emotional intelligence facilitates the formation of strong bonds. Understanding others and keeping interactions with a more positive attitude might help you make more significant connections. This is excellent for networking, workplace interactions, and personal life.

Prioritize tasks & good at time management:?Employees with stronger emotional intelligence are better at managing their time and getting more done. They know how to prioritize tasks and get them done promptly. One can be sure that projects will be finished on time and deadlines will be met.

Emotional intelligence is an acquired skill. So, understand that you are not alone if you believe you need to increase your emotional intelligence. Although emotional intelligence does not come naturally to everyone or every personality type, it is possible to develop it gradually, depending on your understanding and awareness of people. The more you observe people and their behaviour, the higher your chances of acquiring emotional intelligence skills which could make you stand out in your career and eventually, help you excel in life.

(Author: Abdul Rafeeq is a Social Media Intern bursting with creative ideas at?TechDoQuest , which is an IT Recruitment Company)