ISSN: 2222-6990
Open access
Organizational performance is determined by the performance of its employees. The organization cannot achieve success if employees are unable to perform well. While organizations may provide various kinds of work-related support to assist employees in performing their duties effectively, the employees themselves ultimately control their performance. This is where emotional intelligence comes into play. A substantial body of literature in this domain has primarily focused on the private sector to explore the correlation between emotional intelligence and employee work performance, raising inquiries about the extent of evidence available for the public sector context. To study the relationship between the mentioned variables, a cross-sectional online survey design was employed. The study was conducted among employees in a selected government agency. Using convenience sampling method, an online survey link was distributed through social media platform, and 136 usable responses were collected. Through Pearson Correlation Analysis and Multiple Regression Analysis, all research objectives were achieved, and four hypotheses were accepted indicating a positive and significant relationship between emotional intelligence constructs and work performance. Among the four constructs of Goleman’s emotional intelligence — self-regulations, self-awareness, self-motivation and social skills — self-motivation was found to be the strongest predictor (?=0.269; p = 0.004) of employees’ work performance. Additional studies are required to assess the generalizability of these findings to different work settings and sectors, as well as to pinpoint effective approaches for fostering improved emotional intelligence management among employees, particularly within the public sector. Considering the vital role of government servants in providing the best services for citizens, these research findings could help the government understand the importance of ensuring that employees are skilled in managing their emotion while performing their works.
Afza, N., Raja, R. Y., & Bhagya, R. R. (2019). Emotional Intelligence - A Self Motivational Tool for MBA Students, Bangalore. International Journal of Management Studies, 6 (3), 45-50.
Ahmed, Z., Sabir, S., Rehman, Z. U., Khosa, M., & Khan, A. (2016). The Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Employee’s Performance in Public and Private Higher Educational Institutions of Pakistan. Journal of Business and Management, 18(11), 119-127.
Singh, A., Prabhakar, R. & Kiran, J. S. (2022). Emotional Intelligence: A Literature Review of Its Concept, Models, And Measures. Journal of Positive School Psychology, 6(10), 2254-2275.
Arthi, R., & Sumathi, G. N. (2016). Emotional Intelligence and Job Performance among School Teachers – An Empirical Approach. Sona Global Management Review, 10(3), 13-25.
Chong, S. C., Mohammad, F., & Lee, Y. S. (2020). Emotional Intelligence and Job Performance of Academicians in Malaysia. International Journal of Higher Education, 9(1), 69-80.
Dhani, P., & Sharma, T. (2017). Effect of Emotional Intelligence on Job Performance of IT employees: A gender study. Procedia Computer Science, 122, 180–185.
Ghaffari, S., Shah, I. M., Burgoyne, J., & Nazri, M. (2017). The Influence of Motivation on Job Performance: A Case Study at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 11(4), 92-99.
Goleman, D. (1998). Working with Emotional Intelligence. London: Bloomsbury.
Goleman, D. (2005). Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. New York: Bantam Books.
Heidemeier, H., & Moser, K. (2019). A Self?Regulation Account of Job Performance – Job Satisfaction. European Journal of Social Psychology, 49(6), 1-44.
Iqbal, A., Latif, F., Ijaz, M., & Mushtaq, H. (2015). Factors Affecting the Employee’s Performance: A Case Study of Banking Sector in Pakistan. European Journal of Business and Social Sciences, 4(8), 309 – 318.
Kaur, J., & Sharma, A. (2019). Emotional Intelligence and Work Performance. International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering, 8(2S3), 1658-1664.
Koopmans, L., Hildebrandt, V., Bernaards, C., & Vet, H.D. (2014). Construct Validity of the Individual Work Performance Questionnaire. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 56(3), 154-171.
Kotze, M., & Venter, I. (2011). Differences In Emotional Intelligence Between Effective and Ineffective Leaders in The Public Sector: An Empirical Study. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 77(2), 397–427.
Krishnan, R., Mahphoth, M. H., Ahmad, N. A. F., & A’yudin, N. A. (2018). The Influence of Emotional Intelligence on Employee Job Performance: A Malaysian Case Study. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 8(5), 234–246.
Lee, C. W., & Nurul, H. (2018). The Influence of Transformational Leadership and Intrinsic Motivation to Employee Performance. Advances in Management & Applied Economics, 8(2), 1-12.
Ma, S., Silva, M.G., Trigo, V., & Callan, V.J. (2020). The Influence of Emotional Labor and Emotional Intelligence on Job Performance: Does Ownership Type Matter? A Comparison of Public and Private Organizations in China. International Journal of Public Administration, 43(9), 745-756.
Mafuzah, M. & Juraifa, J. (2016). Emotional Intelligence and Job Performance: A Study among Malaysian Teachers. Procedia Economics and Finance, 35, 674-682.
Mehta, S., & Singh, N. (2013). Development of the Emotional Intelligence Scale. International Journal of Management & Information Technology, 8(1), 1253-1264.
Nasir, S. Z., Bamber, D., & Mahmood, N. (2023). A Perceptual Study of Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence and Job Performance Among Higher Education Sector Employees In Saudi Arabia. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 10(1), 60-76.
O’Boyle, E.H., Humphrey, R.H., Pollack, J.M., et al. (2011). The Relation between Emotional Intelligence and Job Performance: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 32, 788-818.
Okpara, A., & Agwu, E. (2015). Self-Awareness And Organizational Performance in The Nigerian Banking Sector. European Journal of Research and Reflection in Management Sciences, 3(1), 53-70.
Pourkiani, M., Seyedi, S. M., & Sarasia, H. S. (2016). The Effect of Self-Awareness and Self-Regulation on Organizational Commitment Employees of Islamic Azad University of Mashhad with Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction. Journal of Fundamental and Applied Sciences. 8(2S), 1886-1899.
Ramanauskas, K. (2016). The Impact of The Manager's Emotional Intelligence on Organizational Performance. Management Theory and Studies for Rural Business and Infrastructure Development, 38(1), 58–479.
Ravesangar, K., Muthuveloo, R., & Ai Ping, T. (2018). The Psychological Ownership Act as Mediating Role on The Relationship Between Employee Motivation Factors and Work Performance: A Perspective of Banking Sectors in Malaysia. E-Academia Journal, 7(2), 31-44.
Supramaniam, S., & Singaravelloo, K. (2020). Emotional Intelligence, Job Satisfaction and Organisational Performance in the Malaysian Public Administration. Institutions and Economies, 12(1), 77-98.
Treadway, C. D., Breland, W. J., Williams, M. L., Cho, J., Yang, J., and Ferris, R. G. (2013). Social Influence and Interpersonal Power in Organizations: Roles of Performance and Political Skill in Two Studies. Journal of Management, 39(6), 1529-1553.
Verma, V. K., Rastogi, R. (2023). Is CAWI-Based Transit Passengers’ Satisfaction Survey Feasible in India? —Insights During COVID-19. In: Agarwal, A., Velmurugan, S., Maurya, A.K. (Eds) Recent Trends in Transportation Infrastructure, Volume 2. TIPCE 2022. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, Vol 347. Springer, Singapore.
Victoroff, K. Z., Boyatzis, R. E. (2013). What Is the Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence and Dental Student Clinical Performance? Journal of Dental Education, 77(4), 416-426.
Wangari, M. G., Gichuhi D. M., & Stephen, M. (2019). Influence of Emotional Intelligence on Organizational Performance Among Insurance Companies in Kenya. International Journal of Business and Economic Sciences Applied Research.
Weidmann, B., and Deming, D. J. (2021). Team Players: How Social Skills Improve Team Performance. Econometrica, 89, 2637-2657.
Yee, L. C. (2018). An Analysis on the Relationship between Job Satisfaction and Work Performance among Academic Staff in Malaysian Private Universities. Journal of Arts & Social Sciences, 1(2), 64?73.
Zahiid S. J. (2019). World Bank: Malaysia's civil service efficiency stagnating. Malaymail. https://www.malaymail.com/
Zakaria, Z., Yaacob, M. A., Noordin, N., Sawal, M. Z. H. M., & Zakaria, Z. (2011). Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in the Public Sector: A Study in Malaysia. Asian Social Science, 7(7), 102-107.
Zaman, N., Memon, K. N., Zaman, F., Khan, K. Z. & Shaikh, S. R. (2021). Role of Emotional Intelligence in Job Performance of Healthcare Providers Working in Public Sector Hospitals of Pakistan. Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences, 8(2).
Zhongwu, L., & Yapeng, L. (2021). Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Job Performance — Examining Mediation and Moderation Mechanisms. Turkish Journal of Computer and Mathematics Education, 12(6), 3511-3524.
In-Text Citation: (Yusoff et al., 2023)
To Cite this Article: Yusoff, N. D., Zulkafli, S., Jahya, A., & Iskandar, A. I. (2023). Unraveling the Link between Emotional Intelligence and Work Performance: Public Sector Evidence. International Journal of Academic Research in Business & Social Sciences, 13(8), 1372– 1388
.
Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s)
Published by Human Resource Management Academic Research Society (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non0-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode