English 
Vietnamese Any individual who has worked in an atmosphere riddled with adversity, harshness, and toxicity can attest to the importance of Emotional Intelligence (EI) in the workplace.
From the employer’s perspective, a high EQ workforce tends to be more motivated and thus perform better.
However, identifying an emotionally intelligent person is not always straightforward. Here are some common signs of emotional intelligence in the workplace. You can also use these examples as guidelines to improve your EI or your people’s.
Read more: The Inevitable Truth: Why Motivating Employees is a Must!
Examples of emotional intelligence in the workplace
How to tell if someone has high EI? Here are a few easily recognisable examples in the workplace.
1. The employee attempts to resolve conflicts with compassion and understanding
Conflicts are unavoidable in any workplace. How you handle them can reveal a great deal about your emotional intelligence.
Being compassionate and aware of one’s emotional state is essential to preventing the situation from deteriorating any further. As such, compassion and understanding are sure signs of high emotional intelligence in real life.
However, you can’t expect EI alone can resolve workplace conflicts. If your employees consistently exhibit negative feelings against each other, it may be an indication of organisational dysfunction. It is critical that you seek advice and assistance from professionals who can point to deeper problems.
Read more: How to measure EQ accurately?
2. The employee knows how to avoid heated arguments in meetings
Arguments are commonplace in meetings. Only when ego gets in the way that problems arise.
An employee with inadequate EI will tend to become combative, constantly interrupt others, and voice their disagreement in an aggressive or even disrespectful manner.
Conversely, an emotionally intelligent person can calmly listen and then convey the strength of their convictions without undermining other people or rubbing them the wrong way.
Read more: Want to Empower Your Employees Even More? Be Lazy!
3. The employee expresses themselves confidently
An ideal workplace is one where all employees feel confident exchanging their views and thoughts and expressing their emotions.
On the contrary, when ideas and sentiments are suppressed, the situation might become a ticking time bomb that can erupt at any time as long as the underlying issues persist.
Emotionally intelligent employees are not afraid to express themselves; for e.g., showing how much passionate they are about their works. They feel more at ease and appreciate those who can do the same.
Read more: What Makes a Positive Work Environment?
4. The employee embraces changes
Employees constantly rejecting and resisting changes could be an indication of a lack of self-motivation and resilience.
An employee with high EI is much more likely to adapt to changes and execute new initiatives successfully.
5. Employees socialise together outside of work
Signs of employees socialising outside of the office are not necessarily limited to going out every Friday night. Basic behaviours such as conversing, having fun, eating lunch together, and so on, are also vital indicators of an emotionally intelligent workforce. They also add significantly to stress reduction.
The examples above are related to the five main areas of EI, including self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. They should be intentionally fostered in order to build a more human and productive workplace.
The more one's emotional intelligence, the greater one's ability to create collaboration.
