Strategies for maintaining emotional stability: The case of nurses in private health care industry

Abstract: This study examines the emotional intelligence (EI) of nurses by differentiating inter-personal and intra-personal dimensions, and explores the measures taken by them to maintain emotional stability. Further, it investigates the relationship of demographic factors (age, gender and year of experience) of nurses with their emotional stability. The case organization is a well performing private hospital located closer to the metropolitan city. Study collects data through both quantitative (survey) and qualitative means (discussion, observation, and interviews) using a sample of 40 nurses selected conveniently from different ranks. The study finds that the level of EI of nurses in case hospital is slightly high, and their inter-personal skills are higher than intra-personal skills. They maintain emotional stability by means of emotion gaps, emotional shifts and sharing. Findings suggest that both inter-personal and intra-personal dimensions of EI will not be equally important for nurses in dealing with patients, and the level of EI required in the job is not equal among different ranks of nurses.

How to cite this paper

 Mullakanda, P & Dissanayake, K. (2015). Strategies for maintaining emotional stability: The case of nurses in private health care industry.Management Science Letters , 5(12), 1097-1110.

Refrences

Al Hajj, R., & Dagher, G. (2010). An empirical investigation of the relation between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction in the Lebanese service industry. The Business Review, 16(2), 71-77.

Brenda, F. & Louis, R. (2002). Emotional Intelligence: A Core Competency for Health Care Administrators. The Health Care Manager, 20(4), 1–9.

Cadman C. & Brewer J. (2001) Emotional intelligence: a vital prerequisite for recruitment in nursing. Journal of Nursing Management, 9(6), 321–324.

Carmeli, A. (2003). The relationship between emotional intelligence and work attitudes, behavior and outcomes: An examination among senior managers. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 18(8), 788-813.

Cross, B., & Travaglione, A. (2003). The untold story: Is the entrepreneur in the 21st century defined by emotional intelligence?. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 11(3), 221-228.

Dulewicz, V., & Higgs, M. (2003). Leadership at the top: The need for emotional intelligence in organizations. The International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 11(3), 193-210.

Erkutlu, H., & Chafra, J. (2012). The impact of team empowerment on proactivity: The moderating roles of leader’s emotional intelligence and proactive personality. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 26(5), 560 – 577.

Evans, D., & Allen, H. (2002) Emotional intelligence: its role in training. Nursing Times 98(27), 41–42.

Fineman, S. (Ed.) (2000). Emotion in Organizations. Sage Publications, London.

Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence - Why it can matter more than IQ. London: Broomsbury Publishing.

Goleman, D. (2001). The Emotionally Intelligent Workplace, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Groves, K. S., McEnrue, M. P. & Shen, W. (2008). Developing and measuring the emotional intelligence of leaders. Journal of Management Development, 27(2), 225-250.

Kent. T. W. (2006). Leadership and emotions in health care organizations. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 20(1), 49-66.

Kinicki, A., & Kreitner, R. (2009). Organizational Behavior, (9th Ed). U.S., McGraw-Hill, Inc., 137-141.

Kouzes, J.M., & Posner, B.Z. (1995). The Leadership Challenge, Jossey-Bass Inc., San Francisco, CA.

Luthans, F. (2008). Organizational Behaviour. (11th ed.), Singapore: McGraw-Hill International Edition.

Mark, A. (2005). Organizing emotions in health care. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 19(4/5), 277 – 289.

Mayer, J., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D. (2003). Measuring emotional intelligence with the MSCEIT V2.0, Emotion, 3, 97-105.

McQueen A. (1997). The emotional work of caring, with a focus on gynaecological nursing. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 6, 233–240. McQueen A. (2000) Nurse–patient relationships and partnership in hospital care. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 9, 723–731.

McQueen A. (2000). Nurse–patient relationships and partnership in hospital care. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 9, 723–731.

McQueen, A. (2004). Emotional intelligence in nursing work. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 47(1), 101–108.

Meyer, B., Fletcher, T., & Parker, S. (2004). Enhancing emotional intelligence in the health care environment: an exploratory study. Health Care Manager, 23(3), 225-34.

Minda, K. (2013). The practice of meditation: a path to maximize the quality of life. Journal of Transpersonal Research, 5(1), 20-35.

Morrison, T. (2007). Emotional intelligence, emotion and social work: Context, characteristics, complications and contribution. British Journal of Social Work, 37(2), 245-263.

Naseer, Z., Chisti, S., Rahman, F., & Jumani, N. B. (2011). Impact of emotional intelligence on team performance in Higher Education Institutes.International Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 3(1), 30-46.

O’Boyle, E., Humphrey, R.H., Pollack, J.M., Hawver, T.H. & Story, P. (2011). The Relation Between Emotional Intelligence and Job Performance: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 32, 788–818.

Palmer, B., Walls, M., Burgess, Z., & Stough, C. (2001). Emotional intelligence and effective leadership. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 22(1), 5-10.

Pescosolido, A. T. (2002). Emergent leaders as managers of group emotion. The Leadership Quarterly, 13, 583?599.

Rahim, S. H., & Malik, M. I. (2010). Emotional intelligence & organizational performance:(A case study of banking sector in Pakistan). International Journal of Business and Management, 5(10), p191.

Rahim, M.A., Psenicka, C., Polychroniou, P., Oh, S.Y., Ferdausy, S. & Dias, J.F. (2006). Emotional intelligence and transformational leadership: a group level analysis in ?ve countries. Current Topics in Management, 11(1), 223-36.

Rosenfeld, P., Giacalone, R.A., & Riordan, C.A. (1995). Impression management in organizations: Theory, measurement, practice. London: Routledge

Mayer, J. D., & Salovey, P. (1993). The intelligence of emotional intelligence. Intelligence, 17(4), 433-442.

Sarinnapakorn, F. & Sucaromana, U. (2013). Emotional Intelligence among Business Consultants: A Comparative Study. Asian Social Science, 9(3), 1-6.

Secker J., Pidd F. & Parham A. (1999). Mental health training needs of primary health care nurses. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 8(6), 643–652.

Singh, D. (2003). Emotional Intelligence at work, 3rd ed., London: Sage Publications Ltd.

Smith P. (1992). The Emotional Labour of Nursing. Macmillan, Houndmills.

The Journal of Nursing (2007). Emotional Intelligence in the Nursing Profession, 1, American Society of Registered Nurses. Retrieved on 14 June 2013 through http://www.asrn.org/journal-nursing/202-emotional-intelligence-in-the-nursing-profession.html

Vitello-Cicciu, J.M. (2002). Exploring emotional intelligence. Implications for nursing leaders. Journal of Nursing Administration, 32(4), 203–210.

Yin, R. K. (2009). Case study research: Design and methods, Applied Social Research Methods Series, (4th Ed.), New Delhi: Sage Publications Ltd.