Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Hedy R. Dexter

Abstract

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many employees were laid off, furloughed, and forced to work remotely with no time to prepare for the drastic shift in routine. Those working from home have sometimes found it challenging to maintain boundaries between work and family, often leading to decreased overall psychological well-being. Research suggests that individuals with high levels of emotional intelligence (EI) may be better equipped to regulate their emotions during stressful times. Informed by EI theory, the purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the potential for ability EI to influence work stresses associated with stay-at-home orders during the COVID crisis. One hundred and thirty full-time U.S. English-speaking adults, ages 18 to 65+, who worked on-site prior to COVID-19 and then shifted to remote work completed a survey on Momentive, a cloud-based platform. Although no moderating effect was found for the relationship between remote work and job-related stresses, findings revealed that remote work was a significant predictor of work-life balance. Additionally, ability EI was a significant predictor of work engagement, highlighting the value of increased worker satisfaction and productivity. As the pandemic persists and remote work increases, organizational leaders may want to add EI training to the onboarding process for new hires. Increasing employees’ EI may effect positive social change by improving individual well-being and quality of life.

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