The influence of ability-based emotional intelligence on discretionary workplace behaviors

Abstract

The present study focuses on the relationship between ability-based emotional intelligence and discretionary workplace behaviors, that is organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and counterproductive work behavior (CWB). Specifically, this study examines the relationship of four emotional abilities (self-emotion appraisal, other's emotion appraisal, use of emotion and regulation of emotion), comprising ability-based emotional intelligence, with interpersonal and organizational forms of OCB and CWB. This study was conducted with 645 academic staff, from 50 public universities in Turkey. The data were collected through online survey questionnaires and analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analyses. The findings indicate that the ability to appraise other's emotion is a strong positive predictor of interpersonal OCB, while the regulation of emotion ability was negative predictor of interpersonal CWB. Furthermore, the ability to use emotion was a significant predictor of both organizational OCB and organizational CWB. Moreover, the ability to appraise self-emotion positively predicted both interpersonal and organizational OCB and negatively predicted both interpersonal and organizational CWB. These findings suggest that ability-based emotional intelligence assumes an important role in increasing organizational citizenship behaviors and reducing counterproductive workplace behaviors in the workplace. This study also offers practical advices for organizations to increase OCB and decrease CWB by improving employees' emotional intelligence abilities. Results, implications and limitations were discussed and directions for future research were proposed.