How we interact with the people around us – and face our own opportunities and trials – requires more than an instinctive reaction. Being able to identify our emotions and triggers, and manage our behaviour, is important to the quality of our relationships and our well-being. It plays a significant role in how we respond and express our emotions when interacting with others. It also forms the foundation of our ability to understand the deeper reasons behind other people’s actions.
Emotional intelligence holds key skills each of us can use to make a difference in our personal and working lives. By being mindful and consciously growing our emotional intelligence, we are more likely to lead happier, more connected, and more fulfilled lives.
Here are five ways in which emotional intelligence is important in our working lives:
1. EI allows us to forge strong, lasting relationships
Social skills are important when it comes to performing at our best and getting ahead in our careers – and emotional intelligence gives us better social skills. For example, EI provides the ability to see beyond what people say and read their expressions and body language. It gives us insight into social cues, helping us to read the room – even if our interactions are online. It helps to make us aware of the changes, both large and small, that continually occur in ourselves and others, and so helps us navigate tricky social situations, resolve conflicts, and build trust.
2. EI helps in making smart choices
EI empowers us to have the presence of mind to pause before we act to first gain understanding of the potential impact of our emotions on our decisions. This allows us to first take the time to weigh the pros and cons of our decisions. It provides the ability to understand how our decisions will affect others. When armed with both logical reasoning and emotional understanding, we can effectively evaluate situations, anticipate various consequences, and then make choices that are in line with both our values and long-term goals.
3. EI helps when needing to maintain a calm and controlled attitude
Unleashing spontaneous emotions or “losing your cool” can do significant relationship damage in the workplace. One thoughtless reaction can obliterate trust. Emotional intelligence gives us the ability to take a deep breath and recognise an emotion for what it is and act in a way that maintains our integrity and respect for others. Here are five steps to practicing emotional control:
- Consciously hold back on reacting immediately.
- Take time out to understand what it is you are feeling.
- Establish when you became aware of the feeling
- Identify what triggered it.
- Do not judge yourself for how you feel whether you see your emotion as positive or negative.
4. EI holds skills that are important when dealing with conflicts
Some of the hallmarks of emotional intelligence are a high level of self-awareness, good communications skills, empathy, and kindness. As a team leader or employee, these abilities can help with conflict resolution. For leaders, the key to using your EI to stay ahead of impending conflict is to know your team well. Through active listening and regular communication, you can get an idea of your team members’ unique personalities – their strengths and weaknesses, goals, and values. These insights can give you a foresight regarding potential conflicts and help you to resolve disagreements. EI can also help in communicating complex decisions and building consensus to avoid conflict.
5. EI leads to greater fulfilment and job satisfaction
Research has found emotional intelligence supports mental and physical well-being. Employees who have high EI typically experience higher job satisfaction. Their self-awareness and ability to manage relationships, communicate effectively and deal with challenges contributes to enjoying a positive work experience and the quality of team relationships. The overall outcome is a more engaged and motivated workforce.
The impact of emotional intelligence on career advancement
“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” is a well-known saying that suggests personal connections can be as important as experience or skills in the workplace. Making a positive impression at work can help you develop strong relationships, which in turn is helpful in advancing your career. High emotional intelligence will not only help you navigate networking events more effectively; it can support networking with colleagues to build better connections.
Whether you have just started or are a longtime employee, it can be daunting to make meaningful connections within your company. Yet, consistently nurturing a supportive network of work-related coworkers and associates can stand you in good stead for years to come – creating a bond that promotes collaboration and enhances creativity.
Here are seven tips to build a network within your company:
- Attend company events (in-person or online) and make a point of chatting to coworkers you do not yet know very well. Focus on learning more about them and uncover any common personal or work interests and goals.
- Follow up with new contacts you make from time to time to create a foundation for a mutually beneficial relationship. Look for ways to provide value and share knowledge.
- Socialise outside of work with your colleagues to grow your personal and professional relationships. Make sure that you socialise in an appropriate way at a suitable venue. Letting your hair down at a rowdy party could backfire.
- Seek to collaborate with colleagues from other departments to share expertise and uncover new collaboration opportunities. This could lead to streamlining communication and creating better cooperation between departments.
- Pursue mentoring opportunities. Offer your services as a mentor or sign up as a mentee. If your company is not large enough to have a formal mentor programme in place, reach out to potential mentors or offer to mentor a junior team member.
- Join or create an employee resource group (ERG). An ERG is a group who find ways to support one another in their workplace based on shared characteristics or life experiences. ERGs are an excellent tool for supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion in a company. For example, single mothers in a company could meet regularly for support and information sharing, or colleagues who are members of the LGBTQ+ community could provide a safe space for LGBTQ+ employees and allies.
- Sign up for volunteering initiatives. Participating in volunteer work has a way of forging deeper bonds. Not only does it provide a wonderful opportunity to give back, but it can also help you meet and get to know coworkers from different teams and departments as you work together toward a common goal.
The outcome of EI within the workplace
Emotional intelligence is important in the work environment because it helps individuals to forge and maintain quality interpersonal relationships. It gives rise to enhanced communication and supports better decision making and conflict resolution. It leads to collaboration, creativity, and teamwork. One of the great outcomes of emotional intelligence within teams is a greater resilience in the face of change or adversity. All these things are essential in maintaining morale and a positive work environment.
Over to you for sharing your comments and experiences.

About the Author: Kerstin Jatho
Kerstin is the senior transformational coach and team development facilitator for 4Seeds Consulting. She is also the author of Growing Butterfly Wings, a book on applying positive psychology principles during a lengthy recovery. Her passion is to develop people-centred organisations where people thrive and achieve their potential in the workplace. You can find Kerstin on LinkedIn, Soundcloud, YouTube and Facebook.