Emotional intelligence, motivation to work and prevalence of work-related conflicts: a mixed method approach

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate emotional intelligence (EI), motivation to work and prevalence of work-related conflicts among workers in a beverage manufacturing company. The study was enthused by the pertinence of EI, motivation to work and workplace conflicts in improving organizational performance. A mixed method approach was adopted, where employees participated in a mixed method survey. Construct measures for EI, motivation to work and workrelated conflicts were analyzed using Spearman's rank-order correlation, logistic regression and principal component analysis, respectively. Findings show that employees are more comfortable managing emotional challenges with colleagues and specialists. Statistically significant positive relationships exist in how employees perceived, understood, used and managed EI in the workplace. Motivation to work was significantly predicted by employee’s department and way of managing emotional challenges, χ2 (11) = 47.097, p < .000. Analysis of work-related conflicts identified two dimensions, aligning with Mayer and Salovey's model on using, managing, perceiving and understanding EI. The study provides an in-road towards understanding relationship among EI constructs, predicting motivation to work, ascertaining the dimensions of prevalent work-related conflicts. This is the first empirical evidence on organizational EI, motivation to work and prevalence of work-related conflicts in the beverage manufacturing industry. Organizations can increase productivity, motivate employees and reduce work-related conflicts by paying adequate attention to their psychosocial wellbeing at work and outside the workplace. Also, recognizing the relationship between different EI constructs makes it easier for organizations to deploy mechanisms that enhance motivation to work, while effectively dealing with work-related conflicts.