Evaluation of Emotional Intelligence and Job Satisfaction in Employees of Kashan Hospitals

BACKGROUND Job satisfaction and emotional intelligence are two important variables in organizational behavioral studies, and are key factors in promoting the efficiency of organizations. OBJECTIVES The present study was conducted in order to determine the job satisfaction and emotional intelligence of employees of Kashan hospitals in 2011. MATERIALS AND METHODS This cross-sectional study was performed on 121 employees of Kashan hospitals who were selected using random stratified method. In this study, Bar-on emotional intelligence and job satisfaction questionnaires were used. The data were analyzed using statistical methods such as odds ratio, Chi-square and Fisher's exact test. RESULTS The majority of employees (76%) had moderate emotional intelligence while 88.2% of them had moderate job satisfaction. In this study, there were no significant relations between emotional intelligence and variables such as sex, education, and marital and job status (P > 0.05) but significant relations were found between the age and emotional intelligence (P = 0.01). Furthermore, there was no significant relation between job satisfaction and demographic variables. Moreover, no significant relation was found between the emotional intelligence and job satisfaction (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS As the majority of the staff had average level of job satisfaction and emotional intelligence and others were lower than average, it seems necessary for authorities to explore the reasons for job dissatisfaction to prevent job burnout, depression and developing a sense of helplessness in the staff. It is also recommended to hold educational workshops for the staff especially who are younger than 40 years to promote their emotional intelligence.