Study of emotional skills in a sample of students and workers

Purpose: This study seeks to assess the levels of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) and emotional competencies in a sample of workers and college students according to gender. Furthermore, the research upon which this paper is established seeks to analyze the divergence between the sexes from distinct angles of EQ and emotional competencies.  Design/methodology/approach: The study uses a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to determine the differences among the scores of men and women for each of the samples. Self-informed instruments were administered to determine the levels of EQ and emotional competencies in a sample of one hundred and two workers who are residents in Quito, Ecuador, and three hundred and seventy-eight college students from San Francisco de Quito University. The evaluation of the Emotional Intelligence (EQ) type trait was measured through the short version of the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue-SF) in Spanish, as developed by Pérez (2003).Findings: First, the study performed a detailed analysis of the variables for the worker's sample, which shows that the highest score belongs to the total Measurement of Affective Regulation Styles (MARS) scale. In connection with the different facets of TEIQue, the highest is emotionality (43,245), while the lower score is related to adaptability (11,362). When analyzing workers’ samples, the results show there is no compelling discrepancy between sexes in terms of emotional competencies and EQ. However, with regard to adaptability, there is a display that indicates a tendency towards significance where men show higher scores than women, which suggests that men are more adaptable than women. The students’ samples show that the self-control scale appears to be higher in men than in women, suggesting that men show a model of greater emotional control than women who participated in the study. This finding contrasts with the competencies and skills evaluated with the MARS instrument, which reported women achieving higher scores than men. Originality/value: During the last few years, the study of emotions has been an essential change in the world of research. The influence of emotions in the academic field and later in the workplace has been seen as an essential way to improve well-being and increase motivation and productivity. Even so, there are a significant number of unknowns, such as the influence they have on different sexes.