The Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Health and Wellbeing

Abstract

In this article I empirically examine the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and subjective well-being (SWB). It is important to know more about this relationship, because a growing body of research indicates that EI significantly contributes to human performance whereas SWB reveals our overall level of satisfaction with what we are presently doing and have done. One construct (EI) impacts performance, and the other (SWB) reveals our overall satisfaction with how well we perform. Whereas high levels of EI are thought to significantly enhance performance in many areas of life, high levels of SWB indicate that life is going well. Another reason for learning more about the impact of EI on SWB is that studies that have explored this specific relationship are nearly non-existent in the literature. I begin with a brief historical overview of EI and SWB. Following this section, I define both constructs, explain the method used to measure and empirically study the relationship between them in the present article, present the results, and then discuss the major findings and their implications with an emphasis on how best to apply them in parenting and education.