Emotional Intelligence and Occupational Stress among Employees at Makerere University

Abstract

Occupational stress has long been associated with negative outcomes for both individuals and organizations. Recently researchers have proposed that an intertwined relationship exists between emotional intelligence and occupational stress and that emotional intelligence plays a role in adaptive coping (Austin, 2005) (Sahar-Khiz, 2010). This study sought to examine the relationship between emotional intelligence and occupational stress among employees at Makerere University. A cross-sectional survey design was adapted for this study. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collected data. The study sample size included thirty-seven members who were specifically employees at Makerere University Medical School Mulago. Research data entry was done using statistical package for social scientists and analyzed the relationship using Pearson product moment coefficient correlation. The study concluded that there was a positive relationship between emotional intelligence and occupational stress.