Emotional intelligence at work
Emotional intelligence is one of the most cited and most oversold ideas in workplace development. The research does support a real effect on performance, wellbeing, and leadership. How large that effect is depends heavily on which kind of emotional intelligence you measure. This note separates what the evidence supports from what the marketing claims.
How this note is governed
Applies to Employers using emotional intelligence in development and competency models. Research synthesis, not a hiring test and not a legal rule.
Short answer
Emotional intelligence is positively related to job performance across many roles. The effect size depends on how it is measured. Self-report and mixed models overlap heavily with personality. Ability-based EI is more distinct but relates more modestly.
Published Last verified
Seven peer-reviewed meta-analyses were rechecked. The finding that ability-based EI shows a more modest link to performance was unchanged.
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Where these figures come from
7 citations checked, newest check 21 July 2026
- Ashkanasy, N. M., and Daus, C. S. (2005). Rumors of the death of emotional intelligence in organizational behavior are vastly exaggerated. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26(4), 441-452. The paper that organized EI research into the three streams this note uses: ability EI, self-report trait EI, and mixed models. doi.org doi.org
- O’Boyle, E. H., Humphrey, R. H., Pollack, J. M., Hawver, T. H., and Story, P. A. (2011). The relation between emotional intelligence and job performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 32(5), 788-818. The meta-analysis behind the headline claim. All three EI streams relate positively to job performance, with the streams differing in strength and in overlap with personality. doi.org doi.org
- Joseph, D. L., and Newman, D. A. (2010). Emotional intelligence: An integrative meta-analysis and cascading model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(1), 54-78. The cascading-model meta-analysis showing EI predicts performance most strongly in high emotional-labor jobs, the basis of the job-context claim. doi.org doi.org
- Joseph, D. L., Jin, J., Newman, D. A., and O’Boyle, E. H. (2015). Why does self-reported emotional intelligence predict job performance? A meta-analytic investigation of mixed EI. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(2), 298-342. The direct test of the personality-overlap critique: mixed-model EI’s prediction of performance is largely accounted for by established constructs, including the Big Five. doi.org doi.org
- Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P., and Caruso, D. R. (2008). Emotional intelligence: New ability or eclectic traits? American Psychologist, 63(6), 503-517. The ability-model authors’ own statement of what EI is and is not, and why the ability conception is the most defensible scientifically. doi.org doi.org
- Miao, C., Humphrey, R. H., and Qian, S. (2017). Are the emotionally intelligent good citizens or counterproductive? A meta-analysis of emotional intelligence and its relationships with organizational citizenship behavior and counterproductive work behavior. Personality and Individual Differences, 116, 144-156. The meta-analysis behind the citizenship and counterproductive-behavior claims. doi.org doi.org
- Mattingly, V., and Kraiger, K. (2019). Can emotional intelligence be trained? A meta-analytical investigation. Human Resource Management Review, 29(2), 140-155. The training meta-analysis behind the it-can-be-developed claim: structured EI interventions produce moderate positive gains. doi.org doi.org
Common questions
Does emotional intelligence predict job performance?
Yes. Emotional intelligence is positively related to job performance, and the relationship holds across many roles. The size of the effect depends on how EI is measured. The effect is largest in roles with high emotional demands.
What are the three streams of emotional intelligence?
Ability EI treats emotional skill like cognitive ability and is tested with right-and-wrong style items. Trait EI is a set of self-perceived emotional dispositions measured by self-report. Mixed models, the popular business version, blend self-reported ability with traits like motivation and social skill.
Is emotional intelligence just personality rebranded?
Self-report and mixed-model EI show the strongest links to performance. They also overlap heavily with established personality traits, which is why critics call them a rebranding of personality. Ability-based EI is the most distinct from personality but shows a more modest relationship to performance.
Should emotional intelligence be used for hiring?
EI is best used to support a competency model rather than replace judgment about the whole person. It can be developed with training, which is why a development read is more defensible than using it as a selection filter.
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This note is general information about employment practice rather than legal advice for your situation. Check the review date and the jurisdictions above, follow the source link, and confirm the rule before you act on it.