What is Emotional Intelligence?   Emotional Intelligence is the combination of personal and social competence. As the reader can imagine:   Social and personal  competencies are vital for  healthy and productive life. Self-awareness, optimism, and empathy can enhance satisfaction and productivity at work and in other aspects of life. The work place is the ideal setting for the promotion of these competencies in adults because work plays such a central role in their lives. Not only do most of us spend the largest portion of our day at work. but our identity, self esteem, and well being are strongly affected by our work experiences (Emmerling, 1999).

Personal Competence is comprised of self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-motivation. Social Competence is comprised of social awareness and social skills. While these definitions may seem very simple, many people have a difficult time mastering each of these skills. Research has proved that there is a direct relationship between these skills and productivity of employees. Business owners recognize the importance of this direct relationship, and as a result a trend has begun in which companies now train their employees to increase their emotional intelligence.