The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Managing Workplace Conflict

Today’s workplaces have cultural and regional diversities more than any other time in modern history. With all the differences in the perceptions, preferences, and personalities of individuals at some point facing a workplace conflict is inevitable. Therefore, all organizations need to prepare themselves for the unpredictable nature of workplace conflict. The effectiveness of conflict management is deeply interconnected with the emotional intelligence level of individuals. It is so crucial for managers to have a decent level of emotional intelligence to deal with minor and large workplace conflicts. Managers with higher emotional intelligence can identify and understand others’ thought processes and act accordingly. Conflict management is a challenging task for senior management due to its complex and challenging nature. The effectiveness of conflict management is directly related to the fluid operation of all the team operations in every organization. There are several elements that affect the efficiency of conflict management practices. This paper tries a critical analysis of the role of emotional intelligence in workplace conflict management. Following a brief overview of the individual’s emotional intelligence in the workplace by highlighting preview works on the subject matter. Throughout, an attempt is made to find the influence of emotional intelligence in conflict management policies and practices in the workplace. This paper concludes by pointing out the importance of understanding emotional intelligence and how organizations can effectively link this to the smooth management of workplace conflict.