HR morale crisis damaging emotional intelligence

A severe decline in the emotional intelligence (EI) of HR professionals has been attributed to low morale and disengagement.

Internal and external factors such as changes within the workplace, reduction of departmental size, and the ongoing economic recession have all been associated with this drop in engagement and morale, with these issues heightening the mood of insecurity and uncertainty, and resulting in a fall in EI.

Jo Maddocks, Director at JCA Global, who led the study, said: “We interpret this particular slump as meaning that the HR sector is good at relationships but less strong at dealing with set-backs, coping when times get tough and demonstrate strong leadership. We also know there is a close relationship between the ‘financial economy’ and the ‘emotional economy’, and it is likely that when people are more financially secure, they will feel more emotionally secure.”

The study, The Emotional Intelligence of the HR sector, uncovered that, despite HR scoring higher than other industries, there has been a steep decline in its EI peak from 2010, where HR was second. Comparatively, it was seventh this year.