Sensitive but not sentimental: Emotionally intelligent people can put their emotions aside when necessary

Are emotionally intelligent people sentimental? Does their greater sensitivity handicap them or are they able, as theory would expect, to experience and regulate emotions flexibly, depending on their goals? We examined this issue in organizational settings. Good managers are indeed expected to be both attuned to feelings (theirs as well as their subordinates’) and able to put them aside when needed to take tough (but necessary) decisions. Our results show that emotionally intelligent managers do make better managers, as reflected by greater managerial competencies, higher team efficiency and less stressed subordinates. Moreover, and most importantly, emotionally intelligent managers are not just nicer managers. As our results show, emotional intelligence has nothing to do with sentimentality. Actually, it is managers with low EI who have the greatest difficulties to put their emotions aside and not let them interfere when inappropriate.     

Commitment through Employee Volunteering: Accounting for the Motives of Inter‐Organisational Volunteers

This study investigated whether participating in inter‐organisational (i.e. self‐directed, non‐strategic) employee volunteering, which is common but rarely studied, is associated with increased organisational commitment. We find evidence for this relation in a sample (N = 385) of employee volunteers and their non‐volunteering co‐workers. We statistically account for self‐selection into the volunteering program by incorporating individual motives for volunteering. Volunteers compared to non‐volunteers exhibited relatively stronger motives of expressing altruistic values and avoiding negative affect, but a weaker motive of attaining career advancement. Our findings point to an efficient way of increasing organisational commitment that is relatively inexpensive to implement. They also complement existing research from other employee volunteering contexts, pointing to a possible trade‐off between the desired outcomes of effectively managing volunteering programs.