Emotional competence at work

(Purpose) The study investigated emotional competence at work, and elaborated
emotional competence in relation to socio-cultural aspects of emotions at work.
(Design/Methodology/Approach) Emotional competence at work was explored via
interviews, surveys, and observations. The study was conducted over one year, during
which an emotion-training intervention was conducted within a medium-sized
company, operating in the healthcare sector.
(Findings) The study shed light on emotional competence at work, identifying three
domains: Individual emotional competence, Emotional competence within
interactions, and Emotional competence embedded in workplace practices.
(Research limitations/Implications) This study was conducted in one organization.
(Practical implications) Organizational developers are recommended to implement
activities such as training interventions in order to build emotional competence; this
applies not only at the individual level, but also to achieve interaction among
members of the organization, within collective workplace practices.
(Originality /value) Previous studies on emotional competence have been limited to
the individual level. The sociocultural approach to emotional competence adopted in
this study recognizes – in addition to the individual and interactional level of
emotional competence – emotional competence at work as related to practices at
work.