What Is Emotional Intelligence? And Why It’s Important in the Workplace

Emotional intelligence helps us understand, process, and regulate our emotions while also helping us better understand the emotions of others. You can use this understanding to guide your thoughts and actions in healthier ways. In the workplace, more companies are beginning to recognize the value of emotional intelligence and its correlation with higher levels of employee communication, collaboration, and overall productivity. 

Explore what emotional intelligence is, the benefits of emotional intelligence in the workplace, and what strategies can help you encourage higher emotional intelligence in your team.

What is emotional intelligence?

Emotional intelligence is a set of skills that helps you recognize and manage both your own emotions and the emotions of those around you. With higher levels of emotional intelligence, you are more likely to respond calmly to difficult events, empathize with others, and recognize how your and others’ emotions can influence thoughts and actions. 

Sometimes, people refer to emotional intelligence as your emotional quotient (EQ). While IQ measures cognitive intelligence, EQ focuses on emotional intelligence. 

Dr. Daniel Goleman, a psychologist, popularized the concept of emotional intelligence in the 1990s when he released his book Emotional Intelligence. He argued that EQ is just as crucial as IQ—if not more—for success, especially in leadership, teamwork, and interpersonal relationships. Unlike the traditional view of IQ measurements, EQ is not static. Many people can expand their EQ and see corresponding benefits in their daily lives and relationships.

The benefits of emotional intelligence in the workplace

Building emotional intelligence (EQ) can improve relationships, reduce stress, manage change, and increase one's overall quality of life. While EQ can lead to significant improvements in one's personal life, it can also have a big impact on one's professional experience.

A few benefits you may gain from higher levels of emotional intelligence in the workplace include:

• Improved communication: You can express your emotions clearly and constructively when you have high emotional intelligence. You can also understand what others are feeling, which leads to more effective communication and teamwork in the office. For example, you might alter your communication style to be more compassionate if a coworker seems to be having a bad day.

• Improved leadership: Emotional intelligence can help you better understand the emotions of your team members and employees and encourage open and empathetic communication. For example, if a disagreement occurs between people on your team, you would be able to listen to the perspectives of each side and help facilitate compassionate understanding and resolution.

• Increased resiliency: High levels of emotional intelligence can help you deal with change and process unpleasant emotions. Coping with stress can lead to improved performance in your professional tasks.

• Better decision-making: By growing your emotional intelligence, you can empathize with the emotions of your colleagues and predict how your decisions may affect others. This can help you make choices that encourage a healthy work environment while maintaining productivity.

Read more: What Is Corporate Leadership Training?

Who uses emotional intelligence in the workplace?

Emotional intelligence is important for everyone in the workplace to foster effective communication, collaboration, and overall success, regardless of your role or position. As a manager or leader, you might use emotional intelligence to help resolve conflict, empathize with your employees, and motivate your team. As an employee, you might use emotional intelligence to foster better collaboration on team projects, discuss challenges, and listen to different perspectives.

Emotional intelligence is also important across professions. For example, you may use emotional intelligence in careers such as:

• Human resources professionals: Emotional intelligence can help you better understand employee needs and concerns, resolve conflicts, and create a more supportive work environment. 

• Customer service representatives: Customer service representatives use emotional intelligence to establish better connections with clients and customers by empathizing with their needs, concerns, and emotions. 

• Teachers: Teachers use emotional intelligence in the classroom to understand students' needs, identify emotional barriers to learning, and create a supportive learning environment.

• Health care professionals: As a health care professional, you can use emotional intelligence to discuss delicate topics with patients empathetically, understand the perspective of your patients and their families, and foster stronger patient-provider relationships.

Components of emotional intelligence 

Not only did Dr. Daniel Goleman popularize the concept of emotional intelligence concerning business, but he also outlined five important skills for attaining high EQ. The five key components of emotional intelligence are self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, social skills, and empathy.

1. Self-awareness

Self-awareness helps you develop an understanding of how others may perceive your words and actions. When you are self-aware, you can choose your words and behaviors to facilitate positive interactions with others and limit offensive actions. Self-awareness also helps you identify your strengths and weaknesses, taking time to improve on weaknesses while choosing tasks that benefit from your strengths.

In a professional setting, you're displaying self-awareness when you notice an action is making a colleague uncomfortable and choose to refrain from that action in the future.

2. Self-regulation

Self-regulation involves managing and controlling one's thoughts and behaviors when faced with difficult conversations or situations. As an emotionally intelligent individual, you can effectively understand and empathize with your emotions during stressful events without lashing out at others. This can be critical when navigating change or transitions in the workplace.

In a professional setting, you self-regulate by thinking before speaking when discussing a conflict or difficult topic with a client or colleague.

3. Motivation

Motivation is the driving force that compels us to take action, pursue goals, and overcome challenges. In the context of emotional intelligence, motivation is closely related to self-regulation and self-awareness. As an emotionally intelligent individual, you can use your emotions and internal drive to stay focused on your goals, even when faced with obstacles or setbacks. With higher emotional intelligence, you may feel more compelled to complete personal goals, follow passions, and be intrinsically motivated toward personal growth.

In a professional setting, motivation is used when you decide to finish your tasks or complete your next milestone, even when you feel tired or discouraged.

4. Social skills

Social skills refer to your ability to recognize and understand the emotions, perspectives, and needs of those around you. This involves being attentive to social cues, such as nonverbal body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice. By using social skills, you can accurately perceive and interpret nonverbal and verbal cues, allowing you to respond appropriately to the emotions and needs of others. 

In a professional setting, you're practicing social skills when you take the time to actively listen to your colleagues and consider their perspectives when making decisions or completing tasks.

5. Empathy

Empathy is your ability to understand and share others' feelings. This component of emotional intelligence refers to how well you connect with others on a deeper level, fostering trust, compassion, and support. Empathy is crucial in personal and professional relationships, as it helps create a sense of belonging and understanding.

In a professional setting, empathy is displayed when you respond to the emotional needs of others in your workplace. For example, if a teammate is ill and has difficulty finishing their tasks, you show empathy when you offer to help them so they can rest.

How to increase the emotional intelligence of your team

Building emotional intelligence takes time and practice. As a team leader, you can play an important role in helping your team improve their collective emotional intelligence. Before you can help your employees build emotional intelligence, it's important that you take time to reflect on your emotional intelligence skills by recognizing your weaknesses and seeking to grow. Leading by example can be a powerful tool in workplace environments, and you want your employees to be able to see and replicate your application of emotional intelligence skills in the workplace.

When working to build emotional intelligence skills within your team, consider the following tips:

Promote self-reflection.

Inspire your team members to step back and consider how their emotions influence their thoughts and actions. This can help employees enhance their self-awareness and self-regulation skills.

Encourage feedback and communication between employees.

By encouraging employees to communicate with each other and provide feedback, you're helping them learn empathy and active listening and giving them experience regulating their responses to criticism.

Organize team-building sessions.

Arrange training programs focused on emotional intelligence skills, such as self-awareness, self-regulation, social skills, and empathy. These sessions can help initiate communication and expand employee relationships, fostering stronger feelings of empathy and collaboration.

Read more: What Is Team Development? Definition, Stages, and More

Getting started with Coursera

Emotional intelligence is important for leaders and employees to develop to maintain a healthy, efficient, and productive work environment that solves conflict empathetically. You can learn more about emotional intelligence and how it can help you improve your day-to-day life by exploring courses on Coursera. Consider starting with top-rated courses such as Emotional Intelligence: Cultivating Immensely Human Interactions, offered by the University of Michigan, or Managing Emotions in Times of Uncertainty and Stress, offered by Yale University.