This study aimed to assess the moderating effect of emotional intelligence (EI) in the direct impact of the stress generated by the pandemic on work performance and counterproductive work behaviors (CWB) in a multioccupational sample of 1048 professionals (60.7% women). The participants filled the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale, the Impact of Event Scale 6 and the Individual Work Performance Questionnaire. The results proved a relationship between Covid stress, performance and EI, which has a moderating effect between the stress and both indicators of performance, even when sociodemographic variables were controlled. In essence, professionals with high levels of EI and low Covid stress showed the highest performance and the lowest CWB when compared to those who presented less emotional capabilities and higher stress. These results confirm the importance of EI in improving the effectiveness of work performance and reinforce the role of EI as a protective variable that can safeguard occupational health.

Upon the eruption of COVID-19, frontline health-care workers confronted substantial workload and stress along with braving additional difficulties when performing at work. The main aim of this research was to assess the mediating role of work engagement in the direct impact of emotional intelligence on health-care professionals’ work performance. A cross-sectional study was conducted in several Spanish hospitals during the second half of 2020. A total of 1549 health-care workers (62.1% women; mean age 36.51 years) filled the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and the Individual Work Performance Questionnaire. Our findings demonstrated that work engagement plays a mediating effect between emotional intelligence and work performance, even when accounting for sociodemographic variables. Indeed, among the three constructs of engagement, vigor dimension (a1b1 = 0.09; CI: 0.06; 0.12; p < 0.01) emerges over dedication (a2b2 = 0.083; CI = 0.05, 0.1; p < 0.01) and absorption (a3b3 = 0.047; CI = 0.02, 0.07; p < 0.01) as the most decisive one. Herewith, it is apparent that professionals with a higher self-perception of emotional intelligence report stronger levels of engagement, thereby leading to greater performance overall. The present work evinces the necessity for proactively developing the emotional competencies of the health-care workforce, especially in high-emotional demand contexts.

No abstract

El cáncer es una enfermedad que tiene gran impacto emocional y psicológico, tanto en las personas diagnosticadas como en su entorno más cercano. objetivo: Explorar las emociones experimentadas por la familia de un enfermo de cáncer de próstata y del personal sanitario del servicio de oncología en su acompañamiento de pacientes oncológicos. metodología: Se ha realizado un estudio cualitativo, descriptivo y transversal con enfoque desde la fenomenología para explorar vivencias y experiencias de la vida interior de las personas. En él participaron cuatro familiares de un paciente fallecido por cáncer, dos enfermeras oncológicas y dos psicooncólogas. resultados: Las personas más próximas al paciente viven la enfermedad intensamente y pueden presentar diversas alteraciones en su estado de salud, especialmente comunes las relacionadas con el malestar emocional. La fatiga por compasión que sufren los acompañantes parece estar asociada con el síndrome burnout que padece gran parte del personal sanitario y relacionada negativamente con la satisfacción por compasión. Conclusiones: Es fundamental incorporar en la valoración integral del paciente oncológico a sus acompañantes y al equipo que lo trata a nivel sanitario para conocer las áreas psicosociales de influencia y desarrollar ciertos recursos personales como la empatía o la inteligencia emocional.