The influence of emotional intelligence and occupational stress towards job satisfaction among teachers

Abstract

Emotional intelligence is a valuable element affecting performance and positive work attitude at various levels in an organization. Increasing work challenges in the workplace contributes to increased occupational stress levels experienced by an individual. There are very few studies which had focused on occupational stress as mediating factor. Thus, this study investigated the influence of emotional intelligence and occupational stress towards job satisfaction, and the mediating effects of occupational stress between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select 386 secondary teachers in Malacca as respondents. Survey data collected were analyzed using Pearson correlation, multiple regression and hierarchical regression. The findings revealed that most of the respondents have high levels of emotional intelligence and job satisfaction. However, their occupational stress was at a low level. There are significant relationships between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction, emotional intelligence and occupational stress, and occupational stress and job satisfaction. Besides that, (i) emotional self-awareness was found to be the predictor for role overload and job satisfaction, (ii) using emotions was found to be the predictor for role ambiguity and work-family conflict, (iii) understanding emotions was found to be the predictor for work-family conflict, (iv) emotional selfmanagement was found to be the predictor for role ambiguity, and (v) emotional management of others was found to be the predictor for role ambiguity and job satisfaction. In addition, role ambiguity and role overload were found to be predictors of job satisfaction. Furthermore, role ambiguity as a partial mediator has an impact on the relationship between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction among teachers. The findings of the study have shown that teachers who are aware of emotional intelligence and occupational stress skills are able to understand, maintain and enhance their job satisfaction. This study could be used by the Ministry of Education to plan effective strategies to increase the level of emotional intelligence and reduce the level of occupational stress among teachers.