Emotional Intelligence (Monday, July 26, 2010 / 8:55 AM)
Emotional Intelligence describes an ability to perceive, assess, and manage the emotions of one's self, and of others. From the two articles, we can see that in this job market, employers are now looking for people who have high emotional intelligence who knows how to relate to people well. In Singapore a fast paced society, it is a norm to always be under pressure. Therefore it is important to have the emotional intelligence to know how to react at a time like this.
Emotional intelligence is important. A person with low emotional intelligence is less cooperative unable to work well under pressure. It is necessary to be able to manage the stress given by the job and not to avoid it. This might affect the rest negatively, causing them to be under the same pressure as well. We cannot deny the fact that emotions are contagious. Also, a person with low emotional intelligence does not consider and is insensitive to another’s feelings. One who is insensitive to others will not be able to gain favour from the superior or even his or her own colleagues. They may feel that they are not being treated fairly, or in an incorrect manner. This could probably lead to unhappiness or even conflicts within the company because of the inability to communicate properly.
On the other hand, people with high emotional intelligence are pretty aware of their own feelings. Also, they are compassionate and empathetic towards those around them. Therefore these people are often well liked by those around them because they are considered more sensitive. People with high emotional intelligence tend to stay on the job longer as well as they are emotionally more resilient in which this shows why more and more employers are looking for people like this.
In conclusion, emotional intelligence is as important as intellectual quotient (IQ) when it comes to hiring employees because good communication skills are required to be successful in delivering one’s point. Also, the productivity of the company truly depends on the employees. Thus hiring those with low emotional intelligence could affect the productivity of the company as they are less cooperative.
Kaylee Chan
