An employee’s job performance is dependent upon many things, includingemotional intelligence (EI). “It has been established that the emotions an employee experiences in their organization affect his/her psychological and physical health, and also that employee’s attitude towards duties, the organization, and work-related accomplishments,” said Tae Won Moon of the Department of Business Administration at Hongik University in Seoul, South Korea, and lead author of a recent study examining EI on the job. Burnout, also termed emotional exhaustion, is a key factor in determining how emotional intelligence affects job performance. “In our study we used the words emotional exhaustion and burnout interchangeably. Burnout includes three distinct states: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and diminished personal accomplishment,” said Won Moon. “Among these three states, emotional exhaustion is at the core of burnout.” When an employee is forced to exhibit emotions to customers that are insincere, such as smiling to a customer when having a bad day, causes emotional dissonance. “Researchers have suggested that sustained emotional dissonance reduces an individual’s self-identity or even promotes a strong contrary (pseudo) identity and this leads to feelings of stress, frustration, or burnout/emotional exhaustion,” said Won Moon. High levels of EI are linked to increased coping skills, on and off the job. Therefore, Won Moon theorized that low levels of EI would lead to emotional exhaustion or burnout.

1. In The News – Springhil Group Counselling
Emotional Intelligence

2. Emotional Intelligence May
Cause Job Burnout
• An employee’s job performance is dependent upon many
things, includingemotional intelligence (EI). “It has been
established that the emotions an employee experiences in
their organization affect his/her psychological and physical
health, and also that employee’s attitude towards duties,
the organization, and work-related accomplishments,” said
Tae Won Moon of the Department of Business
Administration at Hongik University in Seoul, South Korea,
and lead author of a recent study examining EI on the job.
Burnout, also termed emotional exhaustion, is a key factor
in determining how emotional intelligence affects job
performance.

3. Theraphy Column
• “In our study we used the words emotional
exhaustion and burnout interchangeably. Burnout
includes three distinct states: emotional
exhaustion, depersonalization, and diminished
personal accomplishment,” said Won Moon.
“Among these three states, emotional exhaustion is
at the core of burnout.” When an employee is
forced to exhibit emotions to customers that are
insincere, such as smiling to a customer when
having a bad day, causes emotional dissonance. .

4. • “Researchers have suggested that sustained
emotional dissonance reduces an individual’s
self-identity or even promotes a strong
contrary (pseudo) identity and this leads to
feelings of stress, frustration, or
burnout/emotional exhaustion,” said Won
Moon. High levels of EI are linked to increased
coping skills, on and off the job. Therefore,
Won Moon theorized that low levels of EI
would lead to emotional exhaustion or
burnout.

5. • For the study, Won Moon interviewed 295
employees from a South Korean department
store. The average age of the participants was
38, and all had been employed for at least one
year. The results revealed that three key
components ofEI, optimism, social skills and
emotional validation, were negatively linked
to emotional exhaustion.

6. • “We speculate that individuals who are good
at utilizing their emotions by incorporating
emotion in thought, and understanding
emotions by employing emotional knowledge,
may be more likely to experience emotional
exhaustion,” said Won Moon. “Since they put
more effort into making emotional facilitation
in thinking, and analyzing their own and
others’ emotions, this process may generate a
feeling of stress, frustration, or
burnout/emotional exhaustion.”

7. Reference
• Moon, Tae Won, and Won-Moo Hur.
“EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE, EMOTIONAL
EXHAUSTION, AND JOB PERFORMANCE.”
Social Behavior & Personality: An International
Journal 39.8 (2011): 1087-096. Print.