Purpose
Emotional intelligence (EI) plays a vital role in work and non-work outcomes. Gaps exist in the role of contextual factor (i.e. perceived organisational support, POS) and personal resource (i.e. psychological capital, PsyCap) in investigating employees’ EI. This current research draws on the cognitive–motivational–reactional theory of emotions and conservation of resources theory in examining the serial explanatory pathways between EI and work engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected at three points of measurement from the public sector in Nigeria. The authors tested their serial mediation model with a sample of 528 public sector employees using PROCESS macro with a bias-corrected bootstrapping method.
Findings
The findings show that EI was positively related to work engagement. EI exerted an indirect effect on PsyCap via POS. The indirect effect of EI on work engagement was serially mediated by POS and PsyCap.
Practical implications
Organisations need to pay attention to the level of support they provide to employees, given that employees differ in their emotional appraisal and regulations. The way employees perceive organisational support is vital to helping them stimulate their personal resources towards work goals. This study further accentuates the fact that emotionally intelligent employees tend to understand how to manage their emotions and that of others in a way that leads to a higher level of work engagement.
Originality/value
This paper addresses gaps in the literature on EI and regulations in the changing and challenging world of work. In so doing, this paper contributes to the literature by deepening our understanding of the complex relationship between EI, POS, PsyCap and work engagement. Theoretical and practical implications for employees’ emotional appraisal and regulations are discussed.
This article focuses on the major factors responsible for the recognition of the need for guidance. It reviews the historical development, philosophical bases, and trends.
Adopting total quality management (TQM) program in an organisation may have consequences not only for organisational outcomes but also for employee work behaviour. Therefore, this study investigates the conceptual and empirical link between TQM practices, job satisfaction, and employee work engagement. Cross-sectional survey design, quota, proportionate and simple random sampling were used to draw 300 participants from the study population, out of which 190 responded and n = 183(61%) usable responses to the questionnaire designed for the purpose from employees of a food and beverage multinational company in Lagos metropolis were obtained. Regression and correlation analyses were used to analyse the study data. Significant positive relationship was found between dimensions of TQM practices (leadership and management support, employee participation, training, reward and recognition, and customer focus), job satisfaction and employee work engagement. After controlling for sex, age and experience, job satisfaction and TQM practices construct jointly and independently predicted employee work engagement. Also, job satisfaction partially mediated the relationship between TQM practices and work engagement. The implications of soft TQM implementation on employee job satisfaction for achieving highly engaged workforce are discussed.
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