Exploring the impact of emotional intelligence training in the workplace
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Authors
Jansen van Rensburg, Anna Susanna
Issue Date
2018-11
Type
Dissertation
Language
en
Keywords
Emotional intelligence , Self-awareness , Intrapersonal skills , Interpersonal skills , Self-reflection , Self-directed change , Social and emotional learning , Emotional intelligence training outcomes , Context , Autoethnography , Self-management , Self-understanding , Social understanding , Social awareness , Social cohesion , Relationship management , Soft-skills , Hard-skills
Alternative Title
Abstract
The complexity of mental development in humans together with human interaction
in the social context presents itself to be a continued source of investigation and
exploration. Emotional Intelligence (EI) is such a field of study in the discipline of
psychology. Researchers emphasized the importance and value of emotional
development ("soft-skills") equal to cognitive development (“hard-skills”). EI
abilities are associated with key skills and competencies required for operating
successfully in today’s organizations. This study focused on this theme
specifically and tried to determine how EI training impacted on the success of the
individual who fits the modern working profile and how emotionally intelligent
employees are beneficial to organisational success overall.
An ethnographic qualitative study (including an autoethnography) was performed
on individuals of different participant groupings who completed the Neuro-Link EI
Program. The aim was to assess if they showed increased growth in areas of EI,
specifically addressed in the program namely self-awareness, self-management,
social awareness, and social management. Findings indicated that EI training
works with positive results. It was of great value to the individual having an
immense impact on their personal lives. It further had a major positive impact on
the group dynamics of individuals who attended the training. At companies where
facilitators presented the program, EI training had a positive impact. A conclusion
on the impact that such training had on the two companies whose staff members
directly participated in this study, was not yet possible at the time of the study.
The development of an awareness model for the promotion of EI training in the
workplace is recommended. This may increase available knowledge regarding
corporate EI training but also accelerates an emerging, but a too slowly growing movement.