Emotional Intelligence and Innovative Work Behaviour: A Review

Abstract

With the headway of globalization, the achievement and endurance of an organisation are pawned to innovation and adaptability. Innovation plays a crucial role in gaining a competitive advantage within the organization. For any organization to be innovative, employees' innovative work behavior assumes an indispensable role. Capturing innovative ideas from employees at different levels, building an active and collaborative workforce within organisation, recognizing employees' effort, and communicating effectively with all stakeholders are the vital building blocks of innovation. Building the culture of innovation that drives productive and sustainable innovation practices can spark from within the workforce helping organizations to remain competitive and stay ahead in the long haul. Research indicates that innovation and creativity are attained through emotional intelligence. Given this contention, the purpose of this paper is to examine the role emotional intelligence plays in bringing innovative work behavior within the employees. An extensive literature review on the said constructs was conducted where both variables were studied independently and the linkages that both variables exhibit together were also studied from different database sources like Emerald insight, Science Direct, Taylor and Francis, Springer, Google Scholar, etc. and also, the models of emotional intelligence were put forth.

Influence of Emotional Intelligence on Emotional Dissonance and Innovative Work Behavior

“…On one side, there exists a positive and significant relationship between emotional intelligence and innovative behavior but on the other side, when combined with exhaustion are likely to influence the organizational outcomes (Magnano, Santisi & Platania, 2017). Emotional intelligence is therefore accommodative in managing innovative behavior and emotional dissonance due to its encouraging role in managing the emotions, abilities, and intellectual capabilities of workforces (Andrabi & Rainayee, 2020). Therefore, this study aims to examine the role of emotional intelligence in predicting innovative behavior and emotional dissonance.…”

“…Thus, innovative behavior comprehends a broader set of behaviors related to ideas generation, support creation, and effective application of innovative techniques to attain desired tasks (Shojaei & Siuki, 2014). The innovative work behavior is critical in determining the emotional intelligence and also helps in managing the emotional dissonance in effective manners (Andrabi & Rainayee, 2020). The innovative work behavior and emotional intelligence of workforces are also supportive and inspiring in managing emotional stress and exhaustion which are the outcomes of emotional dissonance at the workplace.…”

“…In this connection, the innovative work behavior is defined as intentional formation, overview, and submission of innovative ideas within the work role in a particular organization to advantage the role performance to achieve the desired objectives (Afsar, Cheema & Saeed, 2018). Emotional intelligence and innovative behavior are critical in determining organizational tasks perceptively and inventively (Andrabi & Rainayee, 2020). Conversely, emotional dissonance is the employees' disagreement toward organizational tasks due to emotional fatigue and undesirable policies and actions towards the workforces (Alam, Yifei, Raza & Khan, 2020).…”

What is specific about employment status, workplace experiences and requirements in individuals with autism in Germany?

“…Unemployment rates are alarmingly high in autism (Espelöer et al, 2022) and it is time to draw society's attention to the needs of people with autism in the working environment in order to enable them to join the labor market, from which all parties could benefit, considering special strengths people with autism could bring to the workforce (Johnson & Joshi, 2016;Sarrett, 2017). However, in the labor market, social skills are often required, which presents a major challenge for individuals with ASD (Arora, 2017;Fazekas, 2020;Riggio, 2020). Already the job application process is a challenge for individuals with ASD, requiring flexibility and adaptation to new routines, overcoming miscommunication as well as social interaction deficits (Baldwin et al, 2014;Hurlbutt & Chalmers, 2004;Müller et al, 2003;Sarrett, 2017).…”

“…The importance of social competences in the workplace poses a challenge for people with mental disorders, as various disorders are associated with impairments in social interaction and communication, which might cause challenges in finding and maintaining suitable workplaces (Arora, 2017;Brunello & Schlotter, 2011;Fazekas, 2020;Olesen et al, 2013;Riggio, 2020). Autism-specific social characteristics should receive special scrutiny because, in particular, the psychosocial outcomes of young adults with ASD lag behind compared to persons with other mental disorders or disabilities and comparable demographics (Chen et al, 2015;Howlin, 2013;Howlin & Moss, 2012;Roux et al, 2013;Shattuck et al, 2012).…”