Impact of the Emotional Intelligence on Work Related Outcomes among the Nursing Staff at SRM Hospitals, Chennai

Abstract

Emotional Intelligence often referred also as Emotional Intelligence Quotient is the ability of an individual to perceive, assess and manage emotions of his own self and of other people. Salovey and Mayer (1990) define Emotional Intelligence as the ability to monitor one's own and others' feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one's thinking and actions. Emotional Intelligence has four main components, namely, the ability to: 1. Perceive emotions; 2. Utilize these emotional perceptions to accomplish various activities or tasks; 3. Understand emotional variations; and 4. Manage emotions to achieve goals. Thus, Emotional Intelligence is a measure of an individual's capability and requires tools to assess this capability. The nursing profession demands that the nurse, in the process of care, has to interact with the patients, the medical fraternity and the health care workers constantly. Hence, “Nurse-Patient Interaction” is the pulse of the nursing practice. This interaction is not just conversation. It is a complex process that involves nurse perception, understanding of the patient emotions and utilization of the perceptions to manage patient situations towards the goal of effective patient care. Developing emotional intelligence requires that we unlearn old habits of thought, feeling, and action that are deeply ingrained, and grow new ones. Such a process takes motivation, effort, time, support, and sustained practice. An attempt has been made in this study to identify the determinant factors that influence the emotional intelligence as depended variable. The present study is focused on two major objectives namely: to study the significant impact of Emotional intelligence on behavior of nurses and to analyze the role of Emotional intelligence in work-related outcomes. The present study in explored on all aspects of work and work related issues affecting work efficiency and emotional intelligence of the nursing staff. The primary reasons for emotions at work place are heavy work load, working conditions. The solution to reduce the emotional levels of the nursing staff is clearly discussed in the study.