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Abstract
The present study addressed many of the questions raised by I/O psychologists about emotional intelligence. Specifically this research examined the relationship between trait EI and three life outcomes that are expected to be related to EI, life satisfaction, powerlessness, and loneliness. The study also explored the factor structure of the Bar-On EQ-i using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The research also examined the relationship between trait EI and three organizationally relevant variables, job performance, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions with multiple regression. Emotional labor has been identified as a moderating variable in the relationship between EI and organizational outcome variables, so these relationships were explored in light of the degree to which the respondents work role requires a measure of emotional labor. Finally, a t-test was used to explore any gender differences that exist in overall trait emotional intelligence. A sample of adults working in management and upper-level management participated in this study. The results indicate that trait EI does have relationships with many of the life and work outcomes suggested by theory. The current study also found support for the moderating role of emotional labor and the existence of gender differences in some trait EI components. However, the BarOn measurement model was not confirmed and an alternate model was used, in addition to the BarOn model, to test the hypotheses.