Job Satisfaction and Turnover Intentions Among Indian Call Center Agents: Exploring the Role of Emotional Intelligence

Abstract

Emotional intelligence has been found to be related to job satisfaction and turnover for employees at all levels and is being explored by researchers in cross-cultural settings. The present study investigated the role of emotional intelligence in predicting job satisfaction and turnover for call center agents in India. Study participants were 299 call center agents in Bangalore and New Delhi, who were administered a questionnaire measuring their emotional intelligence, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions. Analyses revealed that emotional intelligence was positively related to job satisfaction, and job satisfaction mediated the relationship between emotional intelligence and turnover intentions. Implications of the study are discussed, including leadership and development practices to enhance emotional intelligence among employees in jobs requiring high levels of emotional investment, as well as the use of the culturally adapted emotional intelligence self-report measure developed by Singh (2004).