Emotional Intelligence Impact on Organizational Normative Commitment in Public Sector

Abstract

Employees’ commitment cannot be denied contributing to organizational effectiveness.
However, commitment can be affected if no emphasis is placed on psychological factors such as
emotional intelligence. This study aims to investigate how emotional intelligence factor can
influence the commitment by testing the impact of emotional intelligence on employee normative
commitment to the organization. A total of 196 civil servants serving the Local Authority in the
southern zone of Peninsular Malaysia were chosen as respondents. Measuring tools used in this
study were Emotional Intelligence Self-Description Inventory (EISDI) and Employee
Commitment Survey Revised Version (ECS-R). The data was then analysed using a multiple
regression analysis in SPSS. The results showed that the emotional intelligence dimension of
facilitating thinking with emotion, and dimension of regulation and management of emotion had
an impact on normative commitment. From the findings, it also shows that there is relevant
influence of two dimensions of emotional intelligence on the normative commitment. Hence,
organizations need to realize that emotional intelligence is one of the basic toward formation of
attitudes, behaviour, personality and psychological reactions in the organization. In conclusion,
efforts to help reinforce positive emotional intelligence among employees need to be addressed
in the organization.