Building Emotional Intelligence

Abstract

Bullying is one of the most concerning forms of aggression in health care organizations. Conceptualized as an emotion-based response, bullying is often triggered by today's workplace challenges. Unfortunately, workplace bullying is an escalating problem in nursing. Bullying contributes to unhealthy and toxic environments, which in turn contribute to ineffective patient care, increased stress, and decreased job satisfaction among health care providers. These equate to a poor workforce environment, which in turn increases hospital costs when nurses choose to leave. Nurse managers are in positions of power to recognize and address negative workplace behaviors, such as bullying. However, emerging leaders in particular may not be equipped with the tools to deal with bullying and consequently may choose to overlook it. Substantive evidence from other disciplines supports the contention that individuals with greater emotional intelligence are better equipped to recognize early signs of negative behavior, such as bullying. Therefore, fostering emotional intelligence in emerging nurse leaders may lead to less bullying and more positive workplace environments for nurses in the future.

Emotional Intelligence in Nurses and Emerging Trends: An Integrative Literature Review

“…In such stressful situations, interpersonal relationships can be affected. There has been increasing concern about aggression in healthcare settings directed at nurses, primarily from colleagues and supervisors, with prior research showing as many as 70% of nurse affected (Bennett & Sawatzky, 2013;Hutchinson & Hurley, 2013). The findings of this literature review support research indicating that EI helps nurses build successful interpersonal relationships, obtain support from others (Erkutlu & Chafra, 2012) and manage workplace stress (Bennett & Sawatzky, 2013).…”

“…This hypothesis is supported by literature which shows that incorporating EI into the leadership of an organization mitigates an established culture of bullying by focusing on optimism, compassion, and resilience in stressful workplaces (Hutchinson & Hurley, 2013). Providing EI training to individual employees is also beneficial in dissuading the use of bullying in the workplace (Bennett & Sawatzky, 2013). Zhu et al noted that amongst 500 Chinese nurses, those with higher EI were more likely to have increased workplace engagement, in which there is a positive, fulfilling and pervasive work-related state characterized by vigor, dedication and absorption (Zhu, Liu, Guo, Zhao, & Lou, 2015).…”

How to prevent workplace incivility?: Nurses' perspective

“…[3456789101112131415] In addition, threatening and disruptive actions can also lead to medical errors, reduce patient satisfaction, and increase the cost of care; meanwhile, with the recent modifications in the health care system, such concerns have become even more crucial to address. [16]…”

Emotional intelligence and intent to stay among nurses employed in Jordanian hospitals

“…Furthermore, EI was found to have a strong relationship with self-leadership (van Zyl, Mokuoane, & Nel, 2017). Research has shown that nurse managers with EI capabilities have the precedence to discover and manage negative attitudes and behaviours such as bullying which ensures a safer and better workplace environment (Bennett & Sawatzky, 2013).…”