The Analysis of the Components of Emotional Intelligence at Workplace: The Case of the Nigerian Telecommunication Industry

Emotional Intelligence (EI) has been increasingly inputted as a part of the multiple human behavior within the environment. Recent scientific phenomenon, pioneering academic researches establish significant relationship between EI and performance in the workplace setting. The aim of this research is to analyze the components of EI of employees in the Nigerian telecommunication industry. For the purpose of this study, front line employees working for a leading telecommunication company IN NIGERIA were used as sample for this research. The reason for taking this sample is to assess the effect of components of EI on the work performance of employees within the workplace setting. For the purpose of the study, 250 questionnaires were distributed to employees personally. 158 questionnaires were filled and returned by respondents. SPSS Software was used to analyze and interpret the data. In order to test the hypothesis T-test and one-way analysis (ANOVA) were used. This dissertation focuses on the analysis of the five components of EI which are self-awareness, managing emotions, motivation, empathy and social skill. The result has reveals that perception of EI components varies with gender, age and education level. In addition, women display more self-awareness such as knowing when they are happy, motivation such as always meeting deadlines, empathy such understanding when they are being unreasonable, and social skill such as being very good listeners, than men. Also older employees and those higher level of education are more emotionally intelligent. Keywords: Emotional Intelligence, Empathy, Telecommunication, Motivation and Self-awareness.