The Effect of Emotional Intelligence and Locus of Control in a Virtual Worker’s Retention and Job Satisfaction
Emotional intelligence refers to one’s ability to identify and manage their own emotions as well as those of others (Brunetto et al., 2012). Therefore, it is the ability of a person to maintain judicious interpersonal relations and be empathetic despite their own emotions. Locus of control refers to one’s perception of their ability to control the key events that influence their life (Gangai et al., 2016). Locus of control can be internal for those who believe that they have tight control of their lives or external for those who think that they have very little control over the events that make their lives (Gangai et al., 2016). A worker’s locus of control and their emotional intelligence greatly influence their job satisfaction (Anitha & Swaranalatha, 2016; Gangai et al., 2016). Job satisfaction of workers in a particular firm, in turn, influences whether they will be retained at the firm or not (Igbeneghu & Papoola, 2011; Kulshrestha & Sen, 2006).
Locus of control and emotional intelligence are key parts of a person’s personality and thus important factors in understanding human psychology. The fact that these two aspects of personality greatly influence worker satisfaction makes them of great significance to industrial and organizational psychology since job satisfaction is closely linked to the performance of the workers (da Borralha et al., 2016). Moreover, understanding these two aspects of personality among workers can help an organization to determine the best ways of motivating their workers. Job satisfaction and the perceptions of workers about the motivational strategies at a firm build organizational commitment in the workers hence long-term worker retention (Habib et al., 2014; Terera & Ngirande, 2014). Retaining workers is encouraged since it ensures that the firm is running consistently and has highly experienced workers who feel at home and are used to the conditions in the firm hence few interruptions. A highly experienced and comfortable workforce, which experiences the least possible interruptions, will definitely enhance the productivity of a firm.
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