Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Professional Performance and Stress Resilience Among Healthcare Practitioners

Abstract

Objectives Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to the ability to perceive, understand, and manage emotions effectively, a skill essential in the high-stress environment of healthcare. Research suggests that healthcare professionals with higher EI are better equipped to handle stress, maintain resilience, and make sound judgments under pressure, ultimately enhancing job performance. This paper examines EI's predictive role in managing job performance and resistance to stress among healthcare professionals, aiming to explore how elevated EI may strengthen their coping abilities and contribute to improved stress management, professional judgment, and resilience in challenging work settings. Method This cross-sectional study was conducted among 108 healthcare providers, including doctors, nurses, and allied workers. It used validated questionnaires to collect data using the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue) to measure EI, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) to determine the level of stress, and other standardized tools to grade job performance and the level of resilience. SPSS analyzed data to find the correlation between EI, stress level, job performance, and resilience. IBM SPSS Statistics, Version 26 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA), was used to analyze data and determine the correlation between EI, stress level, job performance, and resilience. Results The results showed a high positive correlation between EI and job performance, r = 0.601 and resilience r = 0.626, suggesting that higher levels of EI positively determine effective professional outcomes and greater resilience. Besides, EI was shown to have a moderate positive correlation with stress management, r = 0.624, indicating that higher EI levels enhance the capabilities of health professionals to manage stress effectively. Conclusion This research would establish that EI significantly affects the resilience of healthcare professionals to stress and job performance. This means that EI-enhancing programs implemented in healthcare agencies could result in better health outcomes, low burnout, and higher resilience of healthcare workers. The subsequent studies may examine the long-term outcomes of EI on resilience to stress and job performance in various settings.

Keywords: coping ability; emotional intelligence; healthcare professionals; job performance; stress resilience.