The Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Nurse Job Satisfaction

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between emotional intelligence and nurse job satisfaction among acute care nurses in the workplace. The study addressed the following research question: What is the relationship between emotional intelligence and nurse job satisfaction among acute care nurses?

The researcher hypothesized a positive correlation between emotional intelligence and increased job satisfaction among the nurses sampled in this study.

Background and significance: Emotional intelligence is an emerging topic in the nursing profession linked to high performers who have greater job satisfaction (Soleimani & Einolahzadeh, 2017). The nursing shortage and high turnover are growing problems in health care globally, as nurse leaders continue to find solutions to recruit and retain nurses in the profession. Nursing is a fast-paced environment with the need for handling emergencies as quickly as possible, which affects emotions and causes low job satisfaction.

The lack of emotional intelligence skills among registered nurses may negatively affect job satisfaction. The significance of performing this research study is to analyze if the higher emotional intelligence skills a nurse holds, the greater the nurse’s job satisfaction will be. The potential benefits of this study may be used to help nurse leaders improve nurse job satisfaction in the workplace, which ultimately leads to retention, improved collaboration, positive patient experiences, and outcomes.

Methods: This research study utilized a quantitative, non-experimental model with a descriptive correlational design to explore the relationship between two variables, emotional intelligence and job satisfaction. The study sampled 77 staff registered nurses in the acute care setting who provide direct patient care. The survey was distributed to an online audience of registered nurses using SurveyMonkey®. The Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale and the Areas of Work-Life Survey were used to assess emotional intelligence and job satisfaction respectively. Data were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics using measures of central tendency and Spearman’s RHO for correlation.

Results: The findings showed a positive correlation between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction among the nurse participants. For the resulting 35 correlations, there were 19 positive correlations that were significant at the p