While it's smart to hire people with a high IQ, it's also advantageous to find those with an above-average EQ, according to the Paychex report, “Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace.”

“The World Economic Forum predicts that emotional intelligence will rank among the attributes employers covet most by 2020,” the authors write. “But how many professionals possess an admirable degree of emotional awareness, and how might businesses find them?”

Paychex asked more than 1,000 professionals to gauge their EQ, defined as a capacity to recognize and regulate their own feelings and respond appropriately to the emotions of others. Respondents were then were tested to determine the accuracy of their self-reports, and they also answered questions to determine which traits correlate closely with high measures of emotional intelligence.

While the majority of respondents correctly assessed whether their EQ was above or below average, men were more likely to overestimate their own EQ (20.6 percent for men to 17.1 percent for women), while women were more likely to underestimate it (13.7 percent for women to 10.7 percent for men).

“Accurately assessing one's own emotional intelligence might prove challenging — in fact, it might even require some degree of emotional intelligence to do so,” the authors write.

Both men and women valued honesty and respect the most, while men ranked intelligence next and women ranked dependability, good humor and compassion more so than men.

“These findings resonate with recent research indicating that female business leaders are perceived as more compassionate than their male counterparts, and that women appreciate compassion in political leaders to a greater extent than men,” the authors write. “The degree to which these findings are shaped by our culture's prevailing gender norms remains an open — and fascinating — question.”

Professionals in the arts and entertainment fields had the highest EQ scores, followed by marketing and advertising professionals, as well as medical and health care professionals.

“Responding to a decline in patient engagement, medical schools have begun training aspiring physicians in empathy and effective communication — both core EQ values,” the authors write.

The industries that had the fewest professionals with high EQ scores: construction as well as information services and data processing were the industries in which emotional intelligence seemed most scarce.

“Our research suggests that an increased emphasis on emotional intelligence is sorely needed in some industries,” the authors write. “The field of education offers a prime example. While experts recommend that educators impart EQ to their students, our findings suggest many teachers may lack EQ skills themselves.”

Interestingly, Paychex's study found that high EQ scores inversely correlated with income to some extent. About 45 percent of high-EQ professionals earned $35,000 or less annually, and only 12 percent make more than $100,000 per year.

“This data is particularly interesting because prior studies have suggested that emotional intelligence positions workers for career advancements — which typically entails increased compensation,” the authors write. “One explanation might lie in career selections. Perhaps emotionally intelligent people are drawn to fields that are rewarding but not particularly lucrative.”

People with above-average EQ scores prefer direct feedback in person, while below-average EQ people prefer indirect communication like email, according to the study. Moreover, people with above-average EQ prefer managers who allow for independence, people below-average EQ prefer a manager who closely monitors them.

Employers can help workers become more self-aware of their emotional intelligence and how to improve it, according to the report.

“That journey is unlikely to be easy, but it can pay great dividends — for both professionals and the businesses that employ them,” the authors write. “From building a team to growing a base of customers, the ability to understand other people is indispensable.”

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