What does emotional intelligence have to do with being happy at work?

What role do emotional skills and work–life balance play in how people feel about their jobs? A new study explores the connections between managing emotions, personal responsibilities, and engagement at work.

Study: Emotional intelligence and work engagement: the roles of work–life balance and job satisfaction. Image Credit: ANDRANIK HAKOBYAN / Shutterstock

In a recent study published in the journal Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, researchers examined how emotional intelligence is associated with job satisfaction and work engagement among Lebanese employees and whether work–life balance and job satisfaction form a sequential statistical mediation pathway linking emotional intelligence to work engagement.

Background

What factors help employees feel contented, motivated, and engaged when they juggle work with other commitments? Emotional intelligence, the ability to understand and regulate emotions and manage interpersonal relationships, may help employees navigate workplace demands while maintaining their well-being. Work–life balance may further be associated with job satisfaction and engagement. The job demands–resources (JD–R) theory explains how personal and workplace resources support employee motivation, while spillover theory describes how experiences in one life domain influence another. 

About the study

The researchers used a quantitative, cross-sectional design to examine the relationships among emotional intelligence, work–life balance, job satisfaction, and work engagement. Participants were Lebanese employees working in Lebanon or other Middle East and North Africa countries. Participants were recruited through convenience sampling using social media platforms and professional networks. The researchers analyzed 244 completed questionnaires. The online survey was conducted over three months.

The questionnaire collected demographic data and measured four primary study variables. The researchers measured work–life balance using questions adapted from a scale developed by Brough et al. (2014). Emotional intelligence was measured using a modified scale validated by Davies et al. (2010) that covers the appraisal and regulation of one’s own and others’ emotions, as well as the use of emotions. Questions adapted from a scale developed by Brayfield and Rothe in 1951 were used to assess job satisfaction. The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9) was used to assess work engagement, covering vigor, dedication, and absorption.

The study procedure was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the Lebanese American University. Participants provided informed consent, and confidentiality measures were implemented. The researchers analyzed the data using SmartPLS 4.0 and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The researchers assessed measurement reliability and validity, as well as the structural relationships. Bootstrapping procedures were used to evaluate indirect effects and sequential mediation. The researchers also conducted multigroup analyses to examine whether the relationships differed between employees working in Lebanon and abroad and between male and female respondents.

Study results

The analysis supported positive associations among emotional intelligence, work–life balance, job satisfaction, and work engagement. The sample included 244 Lebanese employees, most of whom were women. Nearly half were aged 18–30 years, while most worked in the service sector and held nonmanagerial positions. Participants came from different educational backgrounds and held different professional positions. Although participants differed in age, education, and professional position, the predominance of women and service-sector employees limited the generalizability of the findings.

Reliability and validity assessments generally supported the measurement model. One job satisfaction question showed a relatively weak relationship with its intended measure but was retained because removing it did not substantially improve the model.

Emotional intelligence was positively associated with job satisfaction, consistent with the first hypothesis. This finding indicates that employees who reported stronger abilities to understand and manage emotions also tended to report greater satisfaction with their jobs. Emotional intelligence was also positively associated with work–life balance.

The mediation analysis identified a significant indirect association between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction through work–life balance. This supported the second hypothesis and suggested that perceived balance between professional and personal responsibilities provided a statistical pathway linking emotional intelligence with job satisfaction.

The third hypothesis examined whether work–life balance and job satisfaction sequentially mediated the relationship between emotional intelligence and work engagement. The results supported this pathway, identifying an indirect association through both factors. A separate indirect pathway through job satisfaction alone was also identified. Job satisfaction showed a particularly strong association with work engagement, while better work–life balance was linked to greater job satisfaction.

The structural model explained substantially more variation in work engagement than in job satisfaction or work–life balance. The limited explanatory power for work–life balance indicated that other factors not included in the model may also influence it. Multigroup analyses did not detect statistically significant differences in the modeled relationships between Lebanese employees working domestically and abroad. The analyses also found no statistically significant gender differences in these relationships.

Conclusions

The results show that emotional intelligence is positively associated with job satisfaction and work engagement among Lebanese employees. Work-life balance and job satisfaction also play a role in the relationship between emotional intelligence and work engagement, serving as statistical mediators within the proposed model rather than demonstrating a temporal sequence. This highlights the complementary importance of personal emotional skills and perceived work–life balance.

The authors propose emotional intelligence training, flexible work arrangements, mental health support, and policies that accommodate employees’ personal responsibilities, but the study did not evaluate these interventions. 

The cross-sectional design, relatively limited sample, convenience sampling, the predominance of women and service-sector employees, and reliance on self-reported data restrict causal interpretation and generalizability.

Further research is needed to clarify these relationships across diverse cultural and economic contexts, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Lebanon’s prolonged economic crisis, political instability, and outward migration of skilled workers also provide a distinctive setting for examining these relationships.