Emotionally Smart Makes You More Motivated: Associations between Emotional Intelligence, Motivation, and Work Outcomes in Police Source Handlers

• Main Author: Saad, Karene
• Language: en
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: Emotional Intelligence; Self-Determined Motivation; Police; Work Outcome Variables
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10393/20107

Emotional intelligence and self-determined motivation have been independently identified as important personal variables that are liable to foster optimal work functioning. However, the relationship between these two variables has never been assessed. Furthermore, research has also provided evidence that supervisor support, a social variable, is considered to be a significant source of influence on self-determined behaviour regulation. Thus the primary objective of the project was to jointly assess emotional intelligence and supervisor support as antecedents of self-determined work motivation; secondly, to assess the associations of self-determined work motivation on work outcome variables and psychological welfare; and thirdly, to examine the association between emotional intelligence and psychological well-being on 512 police source handlers. Specifically, it was proposed that emotional intelligence would be positively associated to self-determined work motivation and would display a unique association with work motivation, once the variance from supervisor support has been controlled for. It was further proposed that self-determined work motivation would, in turn, be positively associated with positive work outcomes; specifically, job satisfaction, job performance, future work intentions, and psychological well-being. Lastly, it was hypothesized that emotional intelligence would be positively associated to psychological well-being. Data was analyzed using structural equations modeling. Results revealed that emotional intelligence and supervisor support were both uniquely associated with work motivation. Together, these two variables explained a high proportion of the variance of work motivation. Work motivation, in turn, was positively associated with job satisfaction, job performance, future work intention, and psychological well-being. Emotional intelligence and psychological well-being were also positively associated. Overall, the findings of this thesis provide a basis for future research aimed at determining the causal relationship between emotional intelligence and self-determined motivation. It is further suggested that findings gleaned from this study can provide a better understanding of how certain interpersonal behaviours can impact specific work outcomes, which can provide researchers and practitioners with information to improve individual and organizational outcomes of interest.