Why Emotional Intelligence Should be a Priority in the Hiring Process

27 emotions an hour is how many distinct emotions we feel, on average, every hour of every day according to Dr, Travis Bradberry, PhD. This means that during the typical work day we experience upwards of 200 discernible emotions, and that is a number far too large to ignore. He says, “We are emotional creatures before we are rational creatures. We have an emotional reaction to events before we have rational reactions to events…that’s just the way we’re wired.” So, with that in mind, two of the major questions of the hiring process becomes—or should become—"How is this person going to react to the work environment?” and “How is this person going to react to us?”

These are hugely important questions to answer during the hiring process, as we now know that their answers can and do have a very real impact on how new hires integrate into the pre-existing work environment, how they change and grow it, and how they make better, or possibly, worse. If emotions drive behavior, and awareness builds understanding, then it becomes paramount to have someone on staff who possesses great understanding of the connection between emotion and action and how they combine with the daily workflow, someone who understands organizational psychology.

Dr. Bradberry argues that people often over-inflate their value at the workplace, which can often lead to friction and a change in how those people go about doing their jobs; “I think in work the reason we can become so self-centered is it’s very easy to overvalue how much of a role we play in the success of a project…So your point of focus becomes what you’re going to say next, what you think about this, what you think about that instead of what’s going on with them.”

This is exactly the kind of issue that organizational psychology exists to solve. By being able to properly manage the emotions and reactions of employees in the workplace, the organizational psychologist can get the best out of the people around them. They are able to squash conflict before it escalates and enhance the positives, so everyone can be at the top of their game and the team can run more quickly and efficiently than ever.

It is known among top-performing CEOs and leaders that a high emotional intelligence leads to effective leadership and better workplace production, and they, like Dr. Bradberry, are prime examples of the power of an education in organizational psychology, which highlights the importance of self- and social-awareness in a way that only someone with a thorough understanding of psychology could.

And, if you are interested in helping your work reach new heights, Alliant International University offers an Organizational Psychology PhD program that will provide you with the tools you need to be a leader for your entire company. For more information, contact Alliant today.