INFLUENCE OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE ON EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE IN THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY IN KENYA

Yvonne Alusia Maloba, Dr. Scholastica Wamwayi

Abstract


The demands of the modern-day workplace coupled with globalization have greatly affected the need for employee training particularly in the area of sturdier emotional intelligence and mental agility. The general objective of the study is to establish the influence of emotional intelligence on employee performance in the insurance industry in Kenya. Specific objectives are to establish the effect of self-awareness on employee performance in the insurance industry in Kenya and to determine effect of self-management on employee performance in the insurance industry in Kenya. This study used of a descriptive explanatory research design. The target population was 480 senior staff working in 48 Insurance companies in Kenya. The study sample size was 218 respondents. The stratified random sampling was used to select the sample size. The stratified random sampling was used to select the sample size. A questionnaire which is a form of quantitative data collection tool was used to collect primary data. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics relating to measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion was used to describe the body of data. The study conducted a correlational analysis to evaluate the strength of relationship between the study variables. There was strong relationship between self-awareness and employee performance in the insurance industry in Kenya (r = 0.838, p value =0.003). Also, there was strong relationship between self-management and employee performance in the insurance industry in Kenya (r = 0.895, p value =0.000). Multiple regression analysis was conducted to establish the influence of emotional intelligence on employee performance in the insurance industry in Kenya. The data was presented in form of tables, figures and pie charts. The study concludes that self-awareness has a significant effect on employee performance in the insurance industry in Kenya. In addition, the study concludes that self-management has a significant effect on employee performance in the insurance industry in Kenya. From the findings, this study recommends that the management of insurance companies in Kenya should consider emotional self-awareness and accurate self-awareness to improve employee performance.

Keywords: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Employee Performance


Full Text:

PDF

References


Alarape, A.I. & Akinlabi F.M. (2010). “Influence of perceived organizational Support and discretionary treatment on work attitude of industrial workersâ€. African Journal for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, 5, 23-36

Ali, A. K. (2014). Employee Emotional Intelligence and Employee Performance in the Higher Education Institutions in Saudi Arabia: A Proposed Theoretical Framework. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 4.

Cherniss, C. (2011). Emotional intelligence and organizational effectiveness, The Emotionally Intelligent Workplace, Retrieved 8th may 2017 from http://media.wiley.Com,productdata/excerpt/02/07879569/ 0787956902. Pdf.

Cobb, C.D. & Mayer, J.D. (2000). Emotional Intelligence: What the research says. Educational Leadership, 14-18.

Cooper, R.K., & Sawaf, A. (2014). Executive EQ: EI in leadership and organizations. New York: Grosset/Putnem.

Cote, S. & Miners, C.T.H. (2012). Emotional Intelligence, Cognitive Intelligence, and Job Performance. Admin. Sci. Quart. 51, 1-28.

Deshwal, S. 2015. Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Employee Engagement. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development, 2, 255-256.

Dulewicz, C., Young, M., & Dulewicz, V. (2015). The relevance of emotional intelligence for leadership programmes. Journal of General Management, 30, 71-86.

Goleman, D. (1997). Emotional intelligence. Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. New York, Bantam books.

Goleman, D. (2012) Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. 10th Anniversary edition, New York, Bantam Books.

Ingram, R. (2013). Locating emotional intelligence at the heart of social work practice. British Journal of Social Work, 43, 987–1004

Jorfi, H., Jorfi, S., &Moghadam, K., (2010). Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Performance of Employees, Postmodern Openings, 1, 63-74.

Kim, T.Y, Cable, M.D. Kim, S.P. & Wang, J. (2013). Emotional Competence Moderating effect of Job Autonomy. Journal of Organizational Behavior 30, 983-1000.

Kumar, R. (2014). Impact of emotional intelligence on employee’s performance: A study of employees working in Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2451027

Mayer, J, Salovey, P., & Caruso, D. (2013). Models of emotional intelligence.3rd Ed. In R.J. Sternberg (Ed.). The handbook of intelligence, New York: Cambridge University Press

Mayer, J. D., Caruso, D. R., & Salovey, P. (2010). Selecting a Measure of Emotional Intelligence: The Case Study of Ability Scales. In R. Bar-On. & J. D. A. Parker (Eds.).

Messick, D. & Cook, K. (1983). Equity theory: psychological and sociological perspectives. Praeger.

Molm, H. (2001). High-involvement work practices, turnover, and productivity: Evidence from New Zealand, Academy of Management Journal, 180-190.

Mwangi G.W. & Gichuhi D. M. & Macharia S. M., (2019). Influence of Emotional Intelligence on Organizational Performance Among Insurance Companies in Kenya, International Journal of Business and Economic Sciences Applied Research (IJBESAR), 12, 42-51,

Ngirande, H., & Timothy, H. T. 2014. The relationship between leader emotional intelligence and employee job satisfaction. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5, 35.

Olugbile, O. (2012).Nigeria at Work: A Survey of the Psychology of Work among Nigerian Guarantee Trust Bank Plc Lagos. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, University of Lagos.

Oyewunmi, O.A., & Oyewunmi, A.E. (2014). Collective bargaining in Nigeria’s public health sector: Evidences for an inclusive approach. Research on Humanities and Social Sciences, 4, 20-26.

Palvalin, M., van der Voordt, T., & Jylhä, T. (2017). The impact of workplaces and self-management practices onthe productivity of knowledge workers. Journal of Facilities Management, 15, 423-438.https://doi.org/10.1108/JFM-03-2017-0010

Petrides, K. & Furnham, A. (2012). On the dimensional structure of emotional intelligence. The handbook of emotional intelligence, 320-342, 2000.

Rozell, E. J., Pettijohn, C. E., & Parker, R. S. (2014).†Customer-oriented selling: Exploring the roles of emotional intelligence and organizational commitmentâ€. Psychology and Marketing, 21, 405- 424.

Rubina, M., & Imran, K. (2014). Examining the Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Aggression among Undergraduate Students of Karachi. Educational Research International, 3.

Salovey, H. (2012). A Review & Critique of Emotional Intelligence Measure. Journal of Communication and emotional intelligence. Weldon, NJ: Keans Press

Salovey, P., & Mayer, J. (2010). Emotional intelligence. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, and individual’s differences, 29, 313-320.

Sosisk, J., & Megerian, J. (2013). Understanding leader emotional intelligence and performance. Group and organization Management, 24, 367-9.

Tanui, J., Were, S. & Clive, M (2018). The Relationship between Self-Awareness and Effective Leadership in County Governments in Kenya. Journal of Human Resource and Leadership, 3, 46 – 59.

Zahar, L. (2013). Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Self-Efficacy in Research among Tehran Physical Education Teachers. European Journal of Experimental Biology, 2, 2337-2343.


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.