Roles of Emotional Intelligence and Spirituality on Employee’s Well-Being

Dynamic nature of workplace environment changes the behaviour of employees and makes it unpredictable and technology based knowledge of workforce has become more diverse in respect to work related factors and its consequence. Globalization has made the world boundryless and people mobile. Organizations foresee their employees to be more committed with the work assignments and build up a better cohesive working interrelationship; so far as emotional intelligence is concerned it refers to one’s ability to perceive, control and evaluate emotions of Humans. In the workplace context, Spirituality is that which gives meaning to one's life and draws one to transcend oneself. The wellbeing of employees seems to be of paramount importance in the best interest of the communities as well as organisation, so as well-being is such important issues for employees in the workplace too. In this context an attempt was made to ascertain the roles of emotional intelligence and spirituality on employee’s well-being. For this purpose 100 employees were selected randomly from MNC( multinational company) . To meet the objectives and have a better idea and analysis to understand the employees behaviour. The emotional intelligence scale developed by Singh in 2004 was used and for measuring spirituality, the spirituality scale constructed by Howden 1992 and well-being scale developed by Jagharanbir Singh and by Dr. Asha Gupta 2001were administered on employees of an industry. With the help of EI scale the data gathered from groups of employees working at a USA based MNC in Gurgaon, the high and low EI groups were formed. On the basis of median these two groups were compared in terms of their spirituality and well-being. The obtained results revealed that the high emotional intelligence groups were formed to be high on spiritual practices, and also showed better well-being as compared to low emotional intelligence groups of employees. It is discussed that emotional intelligence showed significant influence on employee’s well-being and spiritual practices.

secular activity, and quite separate from a person's religious or spiritual life. That is changing, so it is believed that it is essentially needed change because nature of work is constantly changes (Biberman and Whitty 1997). It is evident in various kinds of jobs that employees used to be engaged for. Traditional concept of lifetime employment has also changed. Organizations from not only develop country like Japan and United States and other countries have also started to show interest in spiritual values. (Brandt 1996, Galen 1996, Labbs 1995, Vicek 1992. Organizational soul and workforce spirit have often been overlooked and ignored by many (Biberman and Whitty 1997). Work life reaches and touches into the very soul and spirit of all employees at work. Those at work are constantly seeking ways to improve themselves and a sense of contribution to their work life. Workplace unity creates a stronger organization, one that can withstand the uncertainties in this dynamic business environment. This form of spirit requires not only the spirituality, emotional intelligence but also well-being. At the workplace, there exists horizontal spirituality. Horizontal spirituality at work is the desire to be of service to other people and that is demonstrated by service orientation and deep concern for others at work Emotional Intelligence has garnered attention from psychologist, educators, leadership theorists and business leaders (Burbach, et. al 2003). Due to globalization, workplaces have a diversity of employees. As with diversity, collaboration, co-operation and teamwork have become increasingly important issues for management to handle. Employees with good interpersonal skills should be seen as a valuable asset.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
Globalization brings constant and diverse nature of change in the work & workplace. As with diversity, collaboration, co-operation and teamwork have become increasingly important issues for management to handle. The purpose of this study is to highlight the importance of spirituality; emotional intelligence & well-being at the workplace among the employees. And also to study emotional intelligence, spirituality and well-being among the employees who are managing the work emotions & handling stress, inter personal skills. This paper will examine the roles of spirituality, emotional intelligence on employees' wellbeing, and its relevance to the workplace, major constructs of spirituality and emotional intelligence that are related to employees' wellbeing. In this research it has been tried to recognize that at what extent an individuals' well-being at workplaces related with spirituality, and emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence is an individual's capacity to perceive emotions, regulate and manage those emotions, and utilize those emotions in more constructive cognitive thought (Mayer, Salovey & Caruso, 2000). Emotional intelligence has found it to be important in maintaining an individual's satisfaction with life (Palmer, Donaldson & Stough, 2001), interpersonal effectiveness, listening and oral communication, negotiation skills, leadership and motivation (Palmer & Stough, 2001). Emotional intelligence can be viewed as, in today's world two companies may have the same factors of production in terms of land, technology, methodology but what make them different is there plan of executing the Human Resource. Emotionally intelligent employees not only perform better but also create an environment for other to do their best and enhance form a positive atmosphere to work. So, there is a need nowadays to improve and develop an emotionally intelligent workforce in order to consider the benefits of understanding and regulating emotions of employees for the workplace success. Gradually emotional intelligence has become one of the most important factors for achieving success in organizations since the emotionally intelligent people are source of competitive advantage. Khokhar and Kush (2009) in their study explained the performance of executives on different levels of emotional intelligence and provided a link between emotional intelligence and effective work performance. Salovey and Mayer (1990) proposed a model that identified four different factors of emotional intelligence: the perception of emotion, the ability to reason emotions, the ability to understand emotion and the ability to manage emotions. 1. Perceiving emotions: The first step in understanding emotions is to accurately perceive them. In many cases, this might involve understanding nonverbal signals such as body language and facial expressions. 2. Reasoning with emotions: The next step involves using emotions to promote thinking and cognitive activity. Emotions help priorities what we pay attention and react to; we respond emotionally to things that garner our attention. 3. Understanding emotions: The emotions that we perceive can carry a wide variety of meanings. If someone is expressing anger, the observer must interpret the cause of their anger and what it might mean.4. Managing emotions: The ability to manage emotions effectively is a key part of emotional intelligence. Regulating emotions, responding appropriately and responding to the emotions of others are all important aspect of emotional management.

Spirituality
The word 'Spirit' comes from the Latin words 'spirare', to breathe and 'spiritus', the breath. Without breath, we would not be alive. So 'Spirit' has something to do with the energy or force that gives us the gift of life This spiritual approach recognizes that people work not only with their hands but also with their hearts or spirit (Ashmos & Duchon, 2000). Spirituality at work is not a fringe idea. In fact, spirituality at work addresses human activities relating to personal development, compassion, meaningfulness and joy at work, honesty, trust, job commitment, and wellbeing of employees (Petchsawange & Duchan, 2012). Successful organizations such as Hemlett-Packard, Tom's of Maine, Ford Motor Company (Burack, 1999), and apple Computer have created programmes to bring spirituality to the workplace. These problems of stress, burnout and work holism at workplace can be solved through spirituality with a beneficial consequence for the well-being of employees.. Furthermore, workplace spirituality programmes have positive effect on employees in form of increased job, serenity, job satisfaction and commitment (Reave, 2005) and positive effects on personal well-being and job performance (Neck & Milliman, 1994. The behavioural characteristics of spiritual individuals include: 1. Seeking to transcend their ego (i.e. their own self-interests) 2. Awareness and acceptance of their interconnectedness with others, creation and their Ultimate Concern 3. Understanding the higher significance of their actions while seeking to integrate their lives holistically 4. Believing in something beyond the material universe which ultimately gives value to all else Well-being Emma et.al (2004) in "The relative importance of psychological acceptance and emotional intelligence to workplace well-being" described the importance of emotional intelligence and well being for the effectiveness of the work place. The wellbeing of employees is in the best interest of communities and organisations. The workplace is a significant part of an individual's life that affects his or her life ant the wellbeing of the community (Harter, Schmidt & Keyes, 2002).
Therefore, wellbeing is looked at from social construct, reduction in stress, burnout and work holism and increasing workers morale, commitment to the organization and subsequent increase in productivity of workers. Workplaces have become the bedrock for the development of community set up for employees. It has become places where people spend most of their lives, develop friendships, create value, and make their most meaningful contributions to society (Fairholm, 1996). The average adult spends much of his or her life working, as much as a quarter or perhaps a third of his waking life at work, it becomes their most important community and to some employees, the work and colleagues at work have taken the place of family or social group. The workplace has become the fountain head of community for many people (Conger, 1994).
There is no doubt regarding the fact that enhanced emotional intelligence leads to better soft skills. Improved or high EI has a direct bearing on the soft skills of a person. Soft skills include all those skills which are not technical in nature. Skills involving all kinds of interpersonal skills such as teamwork, creativity, and conflict resolution... Although it is often termed as a soft skill itself, the significance of communication and its relevance in effective application of other soft skills cannot be overlooked .Stress induced by work holism leads to loss of spirituality, chronic illness, pain, fatigue, fear (Killinger, 2006), while higher absenteeism, lower productivity and increase in company's expenditure in form of health compensation claims increases (Cartwight & Cooper, 1997) due to stress at workplace .Goleman (1995) have theorized that high emotional intelligence would lead to greater feelings of well being . Goleman (1998) explained that an individual's emotional intelligence can effect one's work situation. Organizations with stronger sense of spirituality enable employees to exercise stronger values and ethical beliefs in their Roles of Emotional Intelligence and Spirituality on Employee's Well-Being © The International Journal of Indian Psychology | 10 workplace and empower them to show more creativity and flexibility at work (Mitroff & Denton, 1999).

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
There are following objectives of the present research. 1. To ascertain the influence of emotional intelligence on wellbeing. 2. To ascertain the influence of spirituality on well-being. 3. To determine the relationship among spirituality, emotional intelligence and well-being.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. Is there any significant difference between well-being of high and low emotional intelligence group of employees? 2. Is there any significant difference between well-being of high and low level of spiritual group of employees? 3. Is there any impact of emotional intelligence, spirituality on well-being of employees? 4. How far these two variables are interrelated?

METHODOLOGY
Research methodology involves the systematic procedure adopted in carrying the study by the researcher from initiation to its final conclusion.

Participants
For the current research, the sample size consists of 100 employees working in Gurgaon were selected by means of purposive random sampling technique. The age ranged between 30 to 45 years. Only the employees who were qualified and posted at various job positions middle to higher job were included in the sample. (2004) is consists of 60 statements with five dimensions that is self awareness, self regulation, motivation, social awareness, and social skills. The scores range from 12 to 60 for each area and 60 to 300 for the whole scale. Its reliability is 0.70 by cronbach; alpha .It is 4 point Likert type scale. It is a 4 point rating scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree.

Spirituality assessment scale
Spirituality assessment scale (SAS) developed by Howden (1992) was used .There are 28 items in total. The scores of this scale ranges from 28 to 168. There are four dimensions in SAS-Purpose and Meaning in Life, Innerness or Inner Resources, Unifying Interconnectedness and Transcendence. The SAS scale was found to be 0.94. The SAS has high internal consistency (alpha=0.9164). Each subscale was also found to have reasonably high internal consistency: 1)

Procedure
The employees were approached through management for the purpose of collecting information from employees of the company .The data was collected individually. All the three scales were given to them and told about the purpose of the study and instructed to fill up the questionnaires as per the guide line printed in each questionnaire. They were asked to co operate to do this work for academic purpose and they agreed to give information on the entire questionnaire. In this way the data was collected and scored for the data analysis.

DATA ANALYSIS
The obtained data was analyzed with the help of t-test and Pearson Product moment correlation coefficient. intelligent are high spiritual practices too as evident from the mean scores of the groups compared.

Table 2:-represents the mean S.D. and t-value for well-being scores of high and low emotionally intelligent group of employees
It may be seen from the mean, SD and t value of well-being of high and low emotional intelligent groups of employees. The mean value is 173.7and 162.1 respectively. Standard scores of both the groups is 33.15and 32.19 respectively. The t-ratio has been used to compare the significant difference between the mean scores regarding at 0.05% level of confidence. The mean score of high emotional intelligence group showed that those people who were high emotional intelligent have shown better well-being and those who have low emotional intelligent are found to show disturbed from the trend of the obtained result that the well-being of the employees was influenced by emotional intelligent as shown in the above table. Pearson product moment co-efficient of correlation between emotional intelligent and spirituality reveals positive relationship between these two variables. It appears from the trend of the result that emotional intelligent and spirituality are interrelated. It means if emotional intelligent increases the spirituality also increases. Though the relationship between these two variables is not very high but positive relationship exist between these two variables. The relationship r= .234 is found statistically significant at 0.05 level. Emotional intelligence helps an individual to build strong relationships with others, succeed at workplace to achieve the goals. Emotional awareness and intelligence is a subset of an individual's broader psychological experience of spirituality. Workers with workplace spirituality found their work more satisfying, meaningful and perform better. Gull and Doh (2004) argued that spirituality can be the basis for ethical conduct in business. if spirituality is lacking/absent, there seems to lack of understanding that we are deeply connected. The organization at the time of employee selection, must adapt administering emotional intelligence test for selecting right person for the right job and this would be helpful to enhance the performance of the employee on the job and the organization. Being in touch with spiritual principles and values stimulate the moral imaginations of individuals and can provide in-depth of understanding of many ethical problems that arise in business concerns. Pearson product moment co-efficient of correlation indicators very low positive relationship between emotional intelligence and well-being. It was observed that both the variables are positively related but the degree of relationship between these two variables is very low positive that means further research is needed to investigate in support of the obtained finding that how far these two variables are interrelated. If it is conducted on the larger sample the trend of the result could be further verified and will support the findings of researches being conducted in this area. The correlation value of emotional intelligence and well-being as shown in the table reveals that there is slight positive relation relationship between emotional intelligence and wellbeing which is statistically insignificant but the trend of the result makes it clear that both the variable more in the positive direction as appeared from the result. The findings are supported by the studies of Emma et. al (2004) who reported the importance of emotional intelligence and well being for the effectiveness of the work-place and Khokhar and Kush (2009) who reported that executives having higher emotional intelligence showed better quality of work performance as compared to their counterparts . It is evident from the r-value that Pearson product moment co-efficient clearly indicate the relationship between spirituality and wellbeing. It means the well-being of an individual is influenced by spirituality as it is clear from the obtained result. The finding showed that employees' wellbeing seem to enhance with introducing the practices of workplace spirituality. Ensuring employee's wellbeing guaranteed, it means that workplace spirituality will enhance employees' morale, commitment and productivity by mitigating the level of stress and burnout. The existence of significant relationship between spirituality and well-being that means those employees who are highly spiritual should have good well-being and maintain be able good interpersonal relationship and good health. . It is seen that spirituality has the potential to make a core contribution to human wellbeing, nourish human connections and enhance sense of community development within the workplace. When individuals feel their need of spirituality and spiritual purposefulness in their working life has been satisfied, they will feel happy and satisfaction (Altaf and Awan, 2011) and the level of their well-being (Giacalone, 2009) will be increased.

IMPLICATIONS
Motivating employees for prayers/ yoga sessions, designing multi faith prayer spaces, will strengthen employee's mental alertness, reduction of stress level and build up community spirit. Industrial workers should be given opportunities to develop the spiritual tendencies to give meaning in life and live with peaceful mind, enhance productivity and commitment among employees. The aim of any organization should be to engage as a whole every person at work with all their minds, spirits and souls. It is important to acknowledge employees as spiritual beings. workplace spirituality/ emotional intelligence which does not only begins with employees bodies & minds to work, but also from their souls, creativity, talents and unique spirits.