Summary of:
Yadav, P., & Rai, A. (2020, January). The moderating role of emotional intelligence in the relation between organizational stress and workplace deviant behavior. International Conference on Computation, Automation and Knowledge Management, Amity University. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumber=9051492&casa_token=zSaylrAc3AoAAAAA:CTjEKSGuy6mw9pI7NAsyYouim81v3eE2rfXSLvkvWB4_lY0a6ZXkRDrXWCPeYE3fpDtxeBFB
Background & Theory
This article explored what role, if any, emotional intelligence can make in the relationship between organizational stress and workplace deviant behavior. Stress at work (organizational stress) can often lead one to act negatively, although this study shows that even those with high emotional intelligence may not be influenced by this factor.
Research Questions
Yadav and Rai in “The moderating role of emotional intelligence in the relation between organizational stress and workplace deviant behavior” (2020), seek to address the following questions:
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- How does organizational stress relate to deviant behavior in the workplace?
- What role does emotional intelligence play in this relationship?
Methods
The authors conducted this study by asking 350 participants to complete an Organizational Role Stress (ORS) Construct, a Workplace Deviance Scale, and an Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS). The participants were all working in the telecom industry and all held a manager-type role. To ensure better accuracy for the study, the researchers did a sample study to establish the right scales to use, and then provided the questionnaire to the participants. Data was then analyzed for results.
Results
The results showed that organizational stress does indeed lead to a higher likelihood that one will engage in deviant behavior in the workplace. High emotional intelligence was shown to overall have a less likelihood to engage in deviant behavior, although it does not moderate the relationship between organizational stress and workplace deviant behavior. The study concludes that this may be that even if one is capable of high emotional intelligence, they can still be strongly impacted by organizational stress to the point of engaging in negative behaviors.
What This Means
- Managing organizational stress should be a concern for every organization, as this can result in negative, possibly very harmful, behaviors from employees that can greatly cost the organization.
- Even those who have a high emotional intelligence can be greatly influenced by organizational stress, acting out when they would likely not do so otherwise.
- Further understanding what areas might moderate the relationship between organizational stress and workplace deviant behavior may be beneficial for both researchers and companies to understand and work toward.
Final Takeaway
For consultants: Find ways to guide organizations and leaders to reduce the stress they and their employees might experience. This is critical to the overall well being of everyone involved.
For everyone: Finding ways to be resilient in the face of stress is very important, but it is ok to recognize when a situation may be too stressful and you need to step away from it.
