Assessing Emotional Intelligence Competencies in Public Sector Petroleum Companies in Egypt

Abstract

Although emotional intelligence (EI) has gained general acceptance as a set of competencies in many industries, there is still a need for increased empirical research on its importance, usage, and impact in the workplace. There is also a need for managers to know that EI should be developed as a part of interrelated package of both emotional and cognitive intelligence enhancement rather than being developed in isolation as an autonomous phenomenon.This study ventures to provide empirical information about discrepancies between self and others' assessments of EI's different competencies in government owned petroleum companies in Egypt. Differences between others' and self-scores for each competency were computed. This study also ventures to determine employee level of EI, as represented in its different competencies, when compared with a cut-off point. Data were analysed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences). Results indicated a lower level of EI among employees of the organisations in question and there is a significant gap between self and managers' perception of the different EI competencies.