The Relationship between

the Workplace and

Emotional Intelligence

Prepared for
BCOM Instructor

Prepared by
Studentka,
Student at MCC

AUGUST 3, 2018

1
MEMORANDUM

TO:                   BCOM Instructor

FROM:             Studentka
DATE:            November 18, 2018 
SUBJECT:       The Relationship between the Workplace and Emotional Intelligence

Here is the report you requested on October 22 about how emotional intelligence affects workplace
productivity.

My main idea that emotional intelligence in the workplace can foster a better work environment is true.
Most people who voted for the more positive answers to the survey seemed to be much happier in their
current position. There are several figures and tables that depict the data with a brief explanation.

I am very grateful to the 96 participants who took my survey. All were friends from around the globe;
such as Australia, Poland, Germany, United States, and Canada. They ranged from teens to late 90’s,
so I am very happy to have been provided with their opinions on happiness in the workplace and how
emotional intelligence can change the work environment.

Thanks for giving me the opportunity work on this assignment. It was remarkably interesting research,
if you have any questions about the report, please send me an email at smnawrocki@yahoo.com.
CONTENTS
Page

Executive Summary..............................................................................................iv

Introduction............................................................................................................1

Organizational Productivity.................................................................................2

Effective Leadership..............................................................................................3

Occupational Performance...................................................................................6

Conclusions and Recommendations.....................................................................7

Appendix.................................................................................................................8

Work Cited...........................................................................................................10

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Page

Table-1....................................................................................................................2

Table-2....................................................................................................................3

Figure-3...................................................................................................................4

Table-4....................................................................................................................5

Figure-5...................................................................................................................5

Figure-6...................................................................................................................6

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The report analyzes how emotional intelligence can gradually affect personal interactions

among employee’s in the workplace consequently producing a dramatic change in employee morale

and their interest in the company’s outcome. The purpose of this paper is to show how exhibiting

emotional development can increase organizations productivity, the ability to effectively lead, and

engaged occupational performance. The data collected showed how there are many contributing factors

that can influence emotional intelligence in the workplace; such as internal and external factors. People

knowing themselves and how their emotions can affect them can prove to be a significant factor in

having a positive, healthy, and happy work environment. The people who enjoyed the internal factors,

such as the ambiance seemed to be much happier with their company and had the more positive

answers in the questionnaire.

iv
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE WORKPLACE

AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

INTRODUCTION

“Emotional Intelligence is the ability to sense, understand, value, and effectively apply the power of

emotions as a source of human energy, information, trust, creativity, and influence.”

-Daniel Goleman

Emotional Intelligence plays a significant role in every aspect of our lives, including the

workplace. Individually we have our own make-up, but it becomes an important criterion when people

begin to work together, be in a leadership role, problem solve-conflicts, create effective and efficient

collaboration, and understand individual motivation and performance (Gordon Wright). Often,

emotional intelligence can gradually affect personal interactions among employee’s in the workplace

consequently producing a dramatic change in employee morale and their interest in the company’s

outcome. The purpose of this paper is to show how exhibiting emotional development can increase

organizational productivity, the ability to lead effectively, and engaged occupational performance.

The research was collected from relevant and recent data for both primary and secondary

information. The primary source, an eleven-question survey was conducted via online from 96

participants globally through a structured questionnaire which revealed intellectual characteristics (i.e.

sensitivities to culture, limitations, viewpoints, etc.) and one personal characteristic, age group. The

secondary sources were collected from various websites, articles, and books. The research studied how

to measure and determine the emotional intelligence among employee’s and what mediation can be

taken to create a happier work environment.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE WORKPLACE AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE 1

ORGANIZATIONAL PRODUCTIVITY

There are numerous factors that associate with an individual’s productivity level, such as

emotional feeling’s impacting motivation and communication, while managing adverse conditions in

the workplace. Learning to redirect moods to be action oriented when an undesirable situation occurred

at work can maximize productivity. There are various ways to measure performance standards, such as

a standardized survey that will show reliability if taken multiple times by the same participant. The

reason for the survey’s reliability is because if the data collected has extreme variable changes then

some might argue against the validity of the survey’s accuracy. A suitable way to begin determining EI

(Emotional Intelligence) levels of employee’s is first asking how much they believe their emotions

target their daily work. Table-1 below shows how emotions affect motivation at work.

Table – 1: How well do you use your emotions to be successful in your daily work?

Number of Percentage
Respondents

I am very motivated to get tasks complete with a positive attitude 63 65.6%

I sometimes allow for my emotions to interfere with my daily 32 33.4%

goals

I don’t care too much for my job 1 1.0%

The information acquired from Table-1 is descriptive in nature, as is our emotions being an

intrinsic part of our character. The majority of the respondent’s agreed that allowing themselves to stay

positive it allowed for real opportunity to keep goals and objectives clear, which sequentially relates to

the Table-2.

Table-2: How well can you redirect your mood to be action oriented when a negative
situation has occurred at work?

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 Number of Percentage
Respondents

Strong emotions from a negative incident allow me to stay 55 57.3%

focused on the task at hand

Strong emotions from a negative incident completely ruin my 36 37.5%

day

I’m completely oblivious to everything going on around me 5 5.2%

Many respondent’s feel they are attuned to their EI and can regulate any potential negative

emotions for the betterment of themselves, although a considerable number of participants felt just the

opposite. This is largely due to the disconnect most people have with themselves, so undesirable

emotions such as, anger, sadness, or fear can sway an individual’s reactions to be irrational from their

normal self. To implement a program to improve EI at work can seriously increase their level of

engagement and outcome of interactions that regard work. The program should entail a purpose,

outcome, assessment, and journey to be successful in the long term. The assessment should include a

before and after survey to validate improvement from the program. EI proves to have an impact on

self-development while supporting positive effects that can be observed and measured by higher

productivity (The European Journal of Business Management). This will likely incur emotional

commitment from employees to their workplace.

EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP
Effective leadership requires strong engagement and full acceptance of commitment for

developing personal potentials of a leader. When building a teamwork environment, it is vital to

nurture the team to increase the fitness of all team members. Furthermore, to achieve long-term goals

critically depends on the ability to establish relationships that encourage each employee’s potential.

Daniel Goleman believes there are two groups a leader can improve in; the first group is to have the

ability to be successful in management for ourselves and the second group is to determine how

receptive we are from the guidance of others. (Working with Emotional Intelligence). An active leader

3
enables themselves by constant investment into their self. A leader must first determine if they are

adequately able to communicate to individuals not only verbally, but non-verbal cues too. -3 shows the

opinion of the participants view of their body language in the workplace.

How well do you communicate your feelings to colleagues

using body language at work?

My colleagues would say my body language expresses something different from my verbal statements 22

My colleagues are not sure I have feelings 14

My colleagues would say I am easy to read through body language 60

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Figure-3: How well do you communicate your feelings to colleagues using body language at work?

Over half of the participants are confident in their body language when communicating with

other individuals. This is a key to success, because this can reflect on how an individual will respond

back. This leads to the next point of successful understanding of other people’s emotions at work.

Carefully studying the behavior of team members can open a pathway to communication and

breakdown barriers. Complementary forces will want to seek a balance, but that will never come about

if the leader is not viewing the person as a whole. Table-4 displays the EI of people’s ability to

understand others.

Table-4: How well do you detect and understand other people’s emotions at work?

Number of Percentage
Respondents

I can read other’s feelings at work 86 89.6%

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 I am unable to read other’s feelings at work 5 5.2%

I don’t care about other people’s feelings, especially at work 5 5.2%

The results create the assumption that most people are person oriented and likely to make good

decisions about other people. Although, this can easily be used for manipulation and incidentally take

away that person’s autonomy. A recent study by Margarita Mayo stated, “Being humble, instead of

charismatic are more likely to do better for the organization. Typically, people who are charismatic are

likely to be a narcissist” (Harvard Business Review). This is interesting, because we will orbit to

someone that engages us as a whole, although this person may not be good for us. On the latter, by

being humble you are more likely to not only pick up on other people’s feelings but use their emotions

to enrich the individual. Figure-5 depicts the participants ability to influence their colleague’s

emotions.

How well can you influence a colleague's emotions

while at work?
I can help my colleague's calm
down
11; 11% I find it difficult to deescalate my
colleague's feelings
7; 7% It's not part of my job description
to worry abou t my colleague's
feelings

78; 81%

Figure-5: How well can you influence a colleague’s emotions while at work?
The data shows that 78%, over half of the participants feel they are able to help others in the

workplace. To have this ability shows great character and is significant because great leaders can help

others who need emotional help. The other participants who felt they are unable to help their

colleagues or feel they are not responsible for their colleague’s emotions are not necessarily unable to

be a great leader, but it does help in being more efficient when determining teams, noticing lack of

motivation for work, or stress that could cause inefficient work.

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OCCUPATIONAL PERFORMANCE

Emotions can be conveyed by a variety of means including verbalizations, expressions and be

able to utilize to make an accurate assessment and decision of the situation. EI is an important soft skill

and can be used as an instrument to understand and assess people’s behavior. There are many

contributing factors that can affect performance, such as internal or external factors in the workplace.

Figure-6 shows the significance from the participants on internal factors of the workplace.

How well does your place of employment influence

positive attitude, motivation and creativity with
environmental factors?
The work environment creates a
positive affect that adds to my
motivation and opportunities
4; 4%
The work environment needs
improvement
37; 39% The work environment does no
tmake a difference to me

55; 57%

Figure-6: How well does your place of employment influence positive attitude…environmental factors?

The figure shows that 55% of participants feel that the ambience at work can stimulate their

motivation and attitude, which leads to a good work environment as well as better outcomes for the

company. As for the 4% who did not care about the environment these were people who performed

work outdoors or worked in manufacturing (I sent out emails for personal questions to understand their

answer). The 37% who said the work environment needs improvements tells us that these factors can

enhance the workplace experience, so we can assume that this is important to have a happy work life.

CONCLUSION

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 The result of improving emotional intelligence within organizations can be game changing for

business and life changing for people (genosinternational.com). Often, we find that a 10%

improvement in emotional intelligence starts to produce a significant improvement of self-

development. For instance, at Sanofi they have shown that an 18% improvement in emotional

intelligence can lead to a significant increase of output (genosinternational.com). The results

concluded that my main idea was correct, emotional intelligence in the workplace can be impacted on

the internal and external factors. People are more likely to be more productive when they are happy

with themselves and can critically think about the problems they are having and how to solve them in a

professional manner.

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APPENDIX

Questionnaire/Survey
1. How in touch are you with your emotional feeling’s about work and can describe those
feelings?
A. I know precisely what is bothering me and not making me happy at work.
B. Sometimes I feel troubled at work and can’t explain why.
C. I don’t express emotional feeling’s at work.
2. How well do you communicate your feelings to colleagues using body language at work?
A. My colleagues would say I am easy to read through body language.
B. My colleagues are not sure I have feelings.
C. My colleagues would say my body language expresses something different from my
verbal statements.
3. How well do you detect and understand other people’s emotions at work?
A. I can read other’s feelings at work.
B. I am unable to read other’s feelings at work.
C. I don’t care about other people’s feelings, especially at work.
4. How well can you regulate your feelings in the workplace?
A. I can control my emotions 100% while at work.
B. I am unable to control my emotions in the workplace.
C. I avoid my feelings at all costs.
5. How well can you influence colleague’s emotions while at work?
A. I can help my colleague’s calm down.
B. I find it difficult to deescalate my colleague’s feelings.
C. It’s not part of my job description to worry about my colleague’s feelings.
6. How well do you use your emotions to be successful in your daily goals at work?
A. I am very motivated to get tasks complete with a positive attitude.
B. I sometimes allow my emotions to interfere with my daily goals.
C. I don’t care too much for my job.
7. How well can you redirect your mood to be action oriented when a negative situation has
occurred at work?
A. Strong emotions from a negative incident allow me to stay focused on the task at hand.
B. Strong emotions from a negative incident completely ruin my day.
C. I’m completely oblivious to everything going on around me.

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 8. How well does your place of employment influence positive attitude, motivation and creativity
with environmental factors (i.e. design, color, temperature)?
A. The work environment creates a positive affect that adds to my motivation and
opportunities.
B. The work environment needs improvement.
C. The work environment does not make a difference to me.
9. How much emotional intelligence exist in your workplace?
A. 0-25%
B. 26%-50%
C. 51%-75%
D. 76%-100%
10. How much would you rate your emotional intelligence at work?
A. 0-25%
B. 26%-50%
C. 51%-75%
D. 76%-100%
11. What is your age group?
A. 16-25
B. 26-39
C. 40-65
D. 66 and over
Response Tally -96 Participants
1. A) 78 B) 10 C) 8
2. A) 60 B) 14 C) 22
3. A) 85 B) 5 C) 5
4. A) 51 B) 39 C) 5
5. A) 78 B) 7 C) 11
6. A) 63 B) 32 C) 1
7. A) 45 B) 36 C) 5
8. A) 37 B) 55 C) 4
9. A) 8 B) 27 C) 49 D) 12
10. A) 4 B) 12 C) 42 D) 38
11. A) 37 B) 48 C) 10 D) 1

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 WORK CITED

“Chapter 2.” Working with Emotional Intelligence, by Daniel Goleman, Bantam Books, 2006, pp. 31–
32.

Kannaiah, Dr. Desti, and Dr. R. Shanthi. “European Journal of Business Management.” Research
Online, 2015, researchonline.jcu.edu.au/40340/1/40340%20Kannaiah%20and%20Shanthi
%202015.pdf.

Mayo, Margarita. “If Humble People Make the Best Leaders, Why Do We Fall for Charismatic
Narcissists?” Harvard Business Review, 20 July 2017, hbr.org/2017/04/if-humble-people-make-
the-best-leaders-why-do-we-fall-for-charismatic-narcissists.

Palmer, Ben. “Improving Emotional Intelligence: What Is the Best Approach?” Genos International, 6
July 2018, www.genosinternational.com/improving-emotional-intelligence/.

Wright, Gordon. “Workplace Strategies That Enhance Performance, Health and Wellness.” HOK,
2017, www.hok.com/thought-leadership/workplace-strategies-that-enhance-human-performance-
health-and-wellness/.

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