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Emotional Intelligence on Job Performance:

A Study of Kota Kinabalu Imperial Hotel
Mohammad Firdaus Abdullah, Datu Razali Datu Eranza
and Awangku Hassanal Bahar bin Pengiran Bagul
School of Business and Economic, Universiti Malaysia Sabah
Abstract: This study reports an exploratory investigation of the affects of emotional intelligence on employees
performance in Kota Kinabalu Imperial Hotel. All Heads of seven departments of the hotel were taken as the
sample of respondents for this study. Emotional intelligence is a considerable factor that is capable of affecting
the hotels productivity and benefiting individuals in the hotel and the hotel itself. The study concluded that
emotional intelligence is the ability to manage personal feelings as well as others. The ability is important in
order for a person to really understand workmates. The finding also suggested that low degree of emotional
intelligence will affect people in not capable to perform their job at their best and working uncomfortably.
Performance may decrease due to the non-optimized performance. Therefore, organization should efforts on
emotional intelligence as a way to improve its productivity and quality of performance.
Key words: Emotional Intelligence %Job performance %Personal feelings and competitive advantage
INTRODUCTION

that affect the hotel and its employees self-development

as well. One of many factors that may affect employees
job performance is known as employees own emotional
intelligence. Dulewicz and Higgs [10] demonstrated that
emotional intelligence impacts on work success and
aligned with the concept of competencies. Emotional
intelligence can promote effectiveness at all levels in the
organizations [7]. Mayer et al [11] hypothesized that
employees with high level of emotional intelligence have
smoother interactions with members of the team.
Emotional intelligence also contributes to job performance
by enabling people to regulate their emotions, perform
well under pressure and adjust to organizational change
[12]. Mandell and Pherwani [13] observed that emotional
intelligence linked competencies of people in leadership
positions is increasingly important with an advancing
career levels in organizations [14]. Hence, this research
paper aims to explore the affectivity of emotional
intelligence on employees job performance in Kota
Kinabalu Imperial Hotel, newly established in less than 6
years with a strategic location in the heart of Kota
Kinabalu city. All seven departments are included in this
study which is marketing, accounting, administration,
front office, operational, human resource with food and
beverage department. The objective of the study was to
examine the importance of emotional intelligence in the
organization and its affect on employees work

Research suggest that people with high levels of

emotional intelligence are efficient job performer, engaged
in organizational citizenships behaviors [1], satisfied with
their job [1], experience more career success [2] and feel
less job insecurity [3] with less withdrawal intentions [1].
Other research also shown that emotional Intelligence
enhanced customer satisfaction [4, 5]; productivity [6]
and profitability [5] which is all are important in service
industry, particularly hotels. Organizations require
proactive approach to deliver great service to success [7].
Literature Review: Emotional Intelligence (EI) was firstly
defined by Salovery and Mayer [8] as a type of social
intelligence, separable from general intelligence involves
the ability to monitor ones own and others emotions, to
discriminate among them and use the information to guide
ones thinking and actions. Boyatzis [9] also cited
Salovey and Mayer [8] that the expression of emotional
intelligence was described in the dimensions of the ability
to recognize one selfs and others feeling, the ability to
generate an emotion and reasoning it, the ability to
understand complexity of emotions of own and others
and the ability to manage emotions of a self and in others.
Performance is the underlying basis of many
organizational and human resource program and practices

Corresponding Author: Awangku Hassanal Bahar bin Pengiran Bagul, School of Business and Economics,
Universiti Malaysia Sabah, E-mail: [email protected]. Tel: +6012869772. Fax : +6088320360.

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performance and organizational performance. Research

done by His An Shih and Ely Susanto [15] indicated that
emotional intelligence is an antecedent of conflict
management styles that be linked as the direct effect on
job performance.

quality and quantity expected from the employers in a

particular job. The third finding suggests that all
respondents agreed that emotional intelligence is
important at workplace as a competitive advantage to the
hotel. Interaction on high degree of emotional intelligence
workers has created a competitive advantage for the hotel.
Without proper interaction, workers might find it hard to
work together due to lack of understanding among each
other. As quoted by the Operational Department Head,
emotional intelligence is being recognized as important
issue because of the management and the employees are
becoming more interested in their search for competitive
advantage. The fourth finding suggests that all agreed
that the ability to manage and recognize feelings, the
working environment as well as other peoples behavior
and attitude are affecting their degree of emotional
intelligence. The inability of managers to manage and
recognize employees feelings will result on uneasy
working environment for people working together. Front
Office Departments Head mentioned that he is working
with employees with different personalities, workers
having different personalities and he has to be careful
with his subordinates. Managers are also required to be
effective interpersonal managers that integrate the
workplace relationships. Harmonized workplace
relationship of course will increase the commitment,
organizational citizenship, teamwork and synergy toward
high performance team in organization. The fifth finding
suggests that all respondents agreed that maintaining a
good relationship with people at workplace, personal
health and emotions, degree of stress and pressure at
workplace are capable to affect performance. As agreed
by all the respondents, maintaining a good relationship
with people at the workplace, staying fit at work as well as
the degree of stress and pressure at workplace are the
factors that are capable of affecting their performance at
the hotel. Subordinates personal health give impact to
the employees performances, as poor health will hinder
employees to perform. High degree of stress is also leads
to negativity in performance. The sixth finding suggests
that all respondents agreed that high degree of emotional
intelligence involved positive impacts to the hotel due to
the awareness and ability to manage own feelings and
others. Having a high degree of emotional intelligence
has always had a positive impact to the individual and
organization. Working environment plays an important
role in affecting the subordinates performance at
workplace. An easy working environment must be created
to carry the job successfully. The ability to understand
will enable a manager to work well with the others. It is
claimed by the Front office Head, high level of emotional
intelligence is beneficial to the hotel. Carmeli A.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The research is guided by the question of How does
emotional intelligence affect employees performance in
organization? Structured interview was used to obtain
data from the respondents. The sampling technique for
this research is purposive sampling technique as the
researchers chose the heads of the seven departments
mentioned earlier for interview due to the roles of them of
leading and managing the departments of the hotel.
Thematic analysis was applied to analyze the data, the
respondents were asked to comment on real events than
giving generalizations which will enable the respondents
to reveal more of their beliefs, attitudes and behaviors.
The analysis of the data has been done by focused on
identifiable themes and patterns of living or behavior.
Findings: From the data obtained, it is shown that most of
the heads of departments are at the age group of 35-45
years old, except for one only at the age of 29 years old.
One head of department possess Masters in Human
Capital Management, others with bachelor degrees. It is
also concluded that all heads of departments graduated
with absolute related field of study to their current
departments. Respondents are all managerial level. The
first finding of the research on the hotel shown that all
respondents were agreed emotional intelligence should be
possessed by manager as it involved in managing
personnels feelings. The manager with emotional
intelligence is capable to work successfully with his
employees. As quoted by the Marketing Department
Head, he stated The inability to notice his own feelings
as well as the subordinates feelings leaves the workers
at their mercy due to the failure of manager to recognize
their feelings. The second finding was all of the
respondents agreed that job performance is related to
productivity, quality and quantity of job at workplace that
is used as a measurement for a job evaluation. Job
performance is related to individuals performances,
productivity, quality and quantity of the job at workplace
are usually used as the measurements for job evaluation.
Head of Accounting Department mentioned in the
interview, Job performance is sometimes used by the
management to evaluate a person performance at the
office. On the other hand, Head of Marketing Department
stated, Job performance reflects the subordinates
2

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Yitzhak - Helevy M. and Weisberg J. [16] stated that

individuals reporting higher EI reported higher levels of
life satisfaction, self-acceptance and self-esteem. A
manager with high emotional intelligence may understand
the working conditions of a workplace and providing safe
and comfort workplace environment. The seventh finding
is that all employees agreed that a drop in performance of
individual and organization is due to the negative impacts
of having low degree of emotional intelligence.
Subordinates may experience a heavy workload due to
jobs not finished on time. Apart from that, people who
work around the subordinate may have uneasy feelings
due to the inability of the subordinates to understand the
peoples feelings. A low degree of emotional intelligence
will only hampers the manager and the hotel as well from
achieving its goals and objectives. When you dont
understand them, you will find out that it is difficult for
you to work with them, stated by the Head of
Accounting Department. The final finding suggests that
there is a high degree of emotional intelligence is capable
of improving the individuals and organizational
performances. A high degree of emotional intelligence is
considered important to the hotel as well as to the
individuals themselves. Emotional intelligence has been
recognized as the source of competitive advantage, with
the high degree of emotional intelligence, workers are
working at comfortable surroundings and easy working
environment. Such situations arose as due to the ability
of both parties in managing and recognizing everybodys
feelings, discriminating it and using it in making decisions.
Workers are said to perform better when they are
comfortable with their partners. One of the benefits by
having a high degree of emotional intelligence workers
is the ability to make good decision, the Head of
Administration Department was quoted.

employees. Understanding employees emotion is crucial

as it is the main and first element in managing emotion.
Without knowing employees emotions, managers would
be unable to project employees behavior at workplace.
Datu Razali [19] stated that managerial counseling is an
increasing need in managing employees to cope with
stress. To practice managerial counseling, managers must
have emotional intelligence. Five out of seven
respondents also agreed that job performance reflects the
subordinates productivity at the workplace. The rest of
the respondents agreed that performance, quality and
quantity of a particular job are used as a measurement for
job evaluation. In agreeing to emotional intelligence
importance in daily work, four out of the all seven
respondents agreed that emotional intelligence serves as
the competitive advantage and others are make better
decisions and interact better with people, similar to the
findings of Dulewicz and Higgs [10]. The respondents
agreed that the ability to manage and recognize personal
feelings and others are the factors that influence their
degree of emotional intelligence. Two respondents agreed
that working environment that affects their emotional
intelligence and only one respondent stated that peoples
behavior influence the degree of emotional intelligence. It
is believed that the ability of a person to manage feelings
is one of the factors that influence someones degree of
emotional intelligence. For factors affecting performance,
two respondents agreed that humans behavior is
affecting their performance in workplace while others
stated that their relationships with the management team,
personal health and emotions, with the degree of stress
and pressure are the factors that can affect the
performance at workplace. On the discussion for high
level of emotional intelligence, two respondents agreed
that high degree of emotional intelligence could have
positive impacts to the hotel. One agreed that high degree
of emotional intelligence involved an awareness and
abilities to manage feelings. There is also one respondent
that agreed a high degree of emotional intelligence could
create a comfortable feeling for other workmates. The
other two said that by having a high degree of emotional
intelligence, subordinates could have better decisionmaking skills. Respondents believed that low degree of
emotional intelligence are able to affect a persons
performance due to the inability of the person to manage
their personal feelings and others. Five of the seven
respondents agreed that a high degree of emotional
intelligence is capable of improving the hotels
performance. Two respondents agreed that high degree of
emotional intelligence involved the ability.

DISCUSSION
Throughout the interview, few questions on
emotional intelligence were posted to the respondents by
the researcher. It is reported that four out of seven
respondents agreed that emotional intelligence is about
recognizing personal feelings as other three perceived it
as interaction at the office, emotional management and
social intelligence, similar to the findings by Hatfield,
Cacioppo and Rapson [17]. Emotional intelligence
contributes to the quality relationship at work because
emotions serve communicative and intentions and helping
coordinate social encounters [18]. Such competency will
enable managers to have capability in understanding

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CONCLUSION

9.

Overall, the research suggested that factors such as

peoples behavior, working environment and ability to
manage personal feeling and others are the factors in
affecting their degree of emotional intelligence in
workplace. Maintaining a good relationship with
colleagues at the workplace, personal health and emotions
and keeping the degree of stress and workplace pressure
to a manageable level, would capable to affect any job
performance positively. For future research, it is
suggested to relate the emotional intelligence with selfawareness, self regulations, self-motivation, social
awareness and social skills as the outcome competencies
of the employees in organizations. A study in 2007 also
was done by Goyal and Akhilesh which linked cognitive
intelligence, emotional intelligence and social intelligence.
The interrelation of the few types of intelligences is
providing a more comprehensive framework for team
performance assessment.

10.

11.

13.

14.
15.

16.

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