Emotional intelligence as a predictor of employees' career adaptability

Article history: Received 30 July 2013 Available online 9 September 2013 Emotional intelligence and career adaptability are crucial psychosocial meta-capacities for successful adaptation in various spheres of life, including the realm of careers. However, little is known about the relationship between emotional intelligence and Savickas's (2005) notion of career adaptability. The current research examines the relation of emotional intelligence to career adaptability. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a sample of 409 early career black call center agents (Mean age = 32) employed in three of the largest outsourced financial call centers in Africa. Canonical correlation analysis and structural equation modeling confirmed the predictive validity of emotional intelligence in relation to career adaptability. The results showed that managing one's own emotions contributes themost in explaining overall emotional intelligence a n d the variance in overall career adaptability with its four domains of career concern, career control, career confidence and career curiosity. The results of the study highlight the importance of developing individuals' emotional intelligence in order to strengthen their career adaptability. The research contributed new and valuable insights thatmay inform career development interventions for call center agents. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.