An Empirical Study about the Impact of Managers' Emotional Intelligence on Workers' Stress and Motivation in SME's

Present study investigates the impact of manager's emotional intelligence (EI) on the stress and motivation level of employees. Fifty managers from small and medium enterprises were randomly selected from public and private sector in city of Jeddah. Each of these managers were responsible for the performance of minimum seven workers. Two questionnaires were used to calculate the stress and motivation level of workers, while one questionnaire was used to calculate the EI scores of managers. Results indicate a negative correlation between managers EI and workers' stress levels. however, a strong positive correlation is observed between managers EI with workers motivation. Managers belonging to multinational organizations exhibit higher level of EI followed by managers of private and public sector organizations. EI domains of social skills and empathy are major contributors influencing the stress and motivation of workers. However, Self-awareness and self-management strongly affect the relationship management of managers. Organizations can reduce stress and increase motivation of their workers by improving the emotional intelligence of their managers; which in turn enhance the productivity and efficiency of the organizations.