Teachers: emotional intelligence,job satisfaction, and

organizational commitmentNahid Naderi Anari

Department of English, Islamic Azad University, Anar Branch, Anar, Iran

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligenceand job satisfaction, between emotional intelligence and organizational commitment, and between jobsatisfaction and organizational commitment among high-school English teachers. Furthermore, thestudy aims to examine the role of gender and age in emotional intelligence, job satisfaction andorganizational commitment.

Design/methodology/approach – The participants were selected by proportional stratifiedsampling and simple random selection. This study adopted a survey research design that utilizedan ex post facto research type in which the researcher used questionnaires to collect data from therespondents.

Findings – The results of the study indicate that there is a positive significant relationship betweenemotional intelligence and job satisfaction, between emotional intelligence and organizationalcommitment, and between job satisfaction and organizational commitment. It is also found there is nosignificant difference among high-school English teachers of different genders and ages concerningtheir job satisfaction and organizational commitment. But concerning emotional intelligence, thefindings in this study provide support for gender differences, with females reporting higher emotionalintelligence, but the results show no age differences among the participants.

Originality/value – The present study gains significance as the results can assist the teachers andorganizations in enhancing the job satisfaction and organizational commitment of teachers, thusstemming the tide of high turnover in the teaching profession.

Keywords Emotional intelligence, Job satisfaction, Organizational commitment, Teachers, Iran

Paper type Research paper

IntroductionThere is evidence indicating that most teachers in most school systems are notsatisfied with their jobs, moreover, there is high turnover or drop-in-drop-out syndromeamong the teachers. It is also evident that people join the teaching profession as the lastresort when all efforts to get into other profession have failed. However, because of thecentral position teachers occupy in the educational system, the National Policy onEducation throughout the world admits that no education system can rise above thequality of its teachers. The Policy, therefore, recommends some steps towards theenhancement of an efficient teaching profession. These include training andrecruitment of more efficient teachers at primary, secondary and high school levels(Adepoju, 2001; Adeyoju, 1999; Ajayi, 1999).

What makes a teacher successful has been a central research question oforganizational scientists for decades. Although various approaches and researchmethods have been used for studying this elusive question, it still remains unanswered.Studying teacher skills, however, seems to be one promising stream of research that

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Received 1 August 2011Revised 28 October 201113 December 2011Accepted 16 December 2011

Journal of Workplace LearningVol. 24 No. 4, 2012pp. 256-269q Emerald Group Publishing Limited1366-5626DOI 10.1108/13665621211223379

has potential for providing answers or at least shedding some light on theorganizations problem. As Whetten and Cameron (1994, as cited in Derman, 1999)noted teacher skills form the vehicle by which teacher strategy, teacher practice, toolsand techniques, and personality attributes and style work to produce effectiveoutcomes in organizations.

In the last decade or so, a growing body of research regarding the importance ofemotional intelligence for successful teachers has been witnessed. Underlying thisresearch interest is the view that people with high emotional intelligence competenciesare more likely than less emotionally intelligent people to gain success in theworkplace. Particularly, scholars have noted that social skills are essential for teachers;as individuals ascend the organizational hierarchy, social intelligence becomes anincreasingly relevant determinant of who will and who will not be successful(Hooijberg et al., 1997; Zaccaro, 2001).

Little research has been conducted in an organizational context and therefore asDulewicz and Higgs (2000) suggested there is need for rigorous research to underpinthe usefulness of emotional intelligence in organizational settings whether public orprivate on both personal and organizational levels. To the extent of my knowledge, itseems that none of the studies have investigated the relationship between emotionalintelligence, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment among teachers in thecontext of Iran. Furthermore, researches that have empirically examined relationshipbetween these three variables have reported mixed findings and observed weak tomodest relationships. In this perspective, therefore, the present study gainssignificance as the results can assist the teachers and organizations in enhancingthe job satisfaction and organizational commitment of the teachers thus stemming thetide of high turnover in the teaching profession.

The study seeks answers to the following research questions:

RQ1. Is there any significant relationship between emotional intelligence and jobsatisfaction among high school English teachers?

RQ2. Is there any significant relationship between emotional intelligence andorganizational commitment among high school English teachers?

RQ3. Is there any significant relationship between job satisfaction andorganizational commitment among high school English teachers?

RQ4. Is there any significant difference among participants with different ages andgender concerning their emotional intelligence?

RQ5. Is there any significant difference among participants with different ages andgender concerning their job satisfaction?

RQ6. Is there any significant difference among participants with different ages andgender concerning their organizational commitment?

Literature reviewResearch on emotional intelligenceSalovey and Mayer (1990, p. 189) defined EI as “the subset of social intelligence thatinvolves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feeling and emotions, todiscriminate among them and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and

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actions.” In this study, it is intended to use Schutte et al. (1998) questionnaire. Thisquestionnaire has been derived from Salovey and Mayer’s (1990) model of emotionalintelligence and is a measure of trait emotional intelligence because it relies uponself-perceptions of ability (MacCon et al., 2003).

Jude (2011) investigated the influence of emotional intelligence on occupationalstress among secondary school teachers and the results indicated that there was asignificant difference between the occupational stress of secondary school teacherswith low and those with high emotional intelligence.

In addition, Kauts and Saroj (2010) examined teacher effectiveness and occupationalstress in relation to emotional intelligence among teachers at secondary stage and theyfound that teachers with high emotional intelligence were having less occupationalstress and more teacher effectiveness.

Salami (2007) investigated the relationships of emotional intelligence andself-efficacy to work attitudes of secondary school teachers in South WesternNigeria. The results of the study showed that emotional intelligence and self-efficacyhad significant relations with work attitudes.

Research on job satisfactionJob satisfaction has been defined in various complimentary ways. According to Spector(1985, p. 693) job satisfaction is “ employee attitudes, including pay, promotion,supervision, fringe benefits, contingent rewards, operating procedures, coworkers,nature of work, and communication”. For the purposes of the current study, jobsatisfaction will be considered as the definition by Spector.

According to Bavendam Research Incorporated (2000), job opportunities, stress,leadership, work standards, fair rewards, and adequate authority were contributingfactors to teacher job satisfaction.

Furthermore, Arani (2003) carried out a comparative study of secondary schoolteachers’ job satisfaction in relation to their value orientation and school organizationalclimate in Iran and India. Of the variables selected for the study, teachers jobsatisfaction is dependent variable and teachers value orientation, school organizationalclimate, gender, age, subject of teaching, teaching experience, salary and type of schoolare independent variables. Findings of the study revealed that there is significantdifference between government and private school teachers in their job satisfaction inboth the countries. The study found that the most important values for Iranianteachers are health, knowledge, and family prestige and for Indian teachers arereligion, democracy, and knowledge.

Research on organizational commitmentThe concept of organizational commitment subsumes three constructs: affective,normative and continuance commitment. Affective commitment is defined as “positivefeelings of identification with, attachment to and involvement in the work of theorganization” (Meyer and Allen, 1984, p. 389). Normative commitment is thecommitment based on “a sense of obligation to the organization” (Allen and Meyer,1996, p. 253). Continuance commitment is “the extents to which employees feelcommitment to their organizations when they consider the costs of leaving theorganization” (Meyer and Allen, 1984, p. 289).

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DeCotiis and Summers (1987) undertook a study of 367 managers and theiremployees. The researchers examined the relationship between organizationalcommitment and the outcome measures of individual motivation, desire to leave,turnover, and job performance. Organizational commitment was found to be a strongpredicator for each of these outcome areas.

Bogler and Somech (2004) investigated the relationship between teacherempowerment and teachers’ organizational commitment, professional commitmentand organizational citizenship behavior. Among the subscales of empowerment,professional growth, status and self-efficacy were significant predictors oforganizational and professional commitment.

Joolideh and Yeshodhara (2009) studied the organizational commitment of teachersin India and Iran. The results of their study revealed that Indian teachers had betterorganizational commitment in the affective and normative components and Iranianteachers were found to have better organizational commitment in the continuancecomponent.

Research on emotional intelligence and demographic informationHopkins and Bilimoria (2008) examined the relationship between emotional and socialcompetencies. Participants were 105 top-level executives in financial serviceorganizations. The results showed no significant differences between male andfemale leaders in their demonstration of emotional and social intelligencecompetencies.

Harrod and Scheer (2005) measured EI in 200 youth ages 16-19. EI scores werecompared to demographic characteristics of the individuals (age, sex, householdincome, parents’ level of education, and location of residence). Findings indicated thatEI levels were positively related to females, parents’ education, and household income.EI scores were significantly different between females and males, with femalesreporting higher EI level. Also the results showed no differences between EI scores andage.

In a study by Chan (2004) teacher differences on perceived EI with respect to gender,age, and teaching experiences were examined. Findings in this study provide nosupport for gender and age differences but the results showed significant differencesconcerning teaching experiences.

Research on job satisfaction and demographic informationArani (2003) carried out a comparative study of secondary school teachers’ jobsatisfaction in relation to their value orientation and school organizational climate inIran and India. Findings of this study revealed that there was no significant differencebetween male and female teachers in their job satisfaction. Age, length of teachingexperience, subject of teaching and salary did not have influence the job satisfaction ofthe teachers in Iran and India.

In 2007 Klein looked at whether or not a relationship exists between certaindemographics and overall job satisfaction. The researcher found that no relationshipexists between gender and overall job satisfaction, and no relationship exists betweenage and overall job satisfaction of full-time business faculty in the Wisconsin TechnicalCollege System as identified by the Job Satisfaction Survey (Spector, 1994).

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Age is one of the factors affecting job satisfaction. Different studies conducted showthat older workers are more satisfied.

There have been many investigations into the relationship between age anddifferent forms of job satisfaction. Significant variations across age are commonlyfound, with older employees tending to report higher satisfaction than younger ones(e.g. Doering et al., 1983; Glenn et al., 1977; Warr, 1992).

Research on organizational commitment and demographic informationIn the literature, organizational commitment has been analyzed from severalperspectives – as a dependent variable for antecedents such as age, tenure andeducation (Dunham et al., 1994) and as a predictor of various outcomes such as jobsatisfaction, work motivation, turnover, intention to leave, absenteeism, andperformance (Kristof-Brown et al., 2005; Meyer et al., 2004; Weiner and Vardi, 1980).The investigations, however, provide no stable results. One of the most populardemographic variables in commitment studies is gender. Some researchers state thatmen are more committed to the organization (Savery and Syme, 1996; Singh et al., 2004)than women; others do not find gender differences (Powell, 2000, cited in Singh et al.,2004). Contrary to these results, Singh et al. (2004), Marchiori and Henkin (2004) andDixon et al. (2005) have found that women have higher levels of organizationalcommitment.

The study by Kacmar et al. (1999) examined variables such as age, gender andmarital status as antecedents of organizational commitment and job satisfaction, lifesatisfaction, turnover intentions and job involvement as consequences oforganizational commitment. These authors reported a positive relationship betweenage, job satisfaction, life satisfaction and job involvement with organizationalcommitment, and a negative relationship between turnover intentions andcommitment.

MethodParticipantsThis study was conducted with 84 high school English teachers (29 males and 55females) teaching at Kerman high schools. These teachers were selected byproportional stratified sampling and then by simple random selection. The teachers’age range is 23-50, the level of education of the teachers is B.A. and M.A., and theteaching experience of the teachers ranges from 1-28 years.

InstrumentsThe following instruments were utilized in this research:

. Self-report Emotional Intelligence Test (SREIT) by Schutte et al. (1998);

. Self-report Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) by Spector (1994); and

. Self-report Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) by Meyer andAllen (1997).

SREIT, JSS, and OCQ were translated into the native language (Persian) by a group oftranslators through the translation-retranslation method.

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Emotional Intelligence TestEmotional intelligence was measured with the self-report Emotional Intelligence Test(SREIT) developed by Schutte et al. (1998). SREIT has 33 items with three subscales,the appraisal and expression of emotion in self and others, regulation of emotion in selfand others, and utilization of emotion in solving problems. The items adopt a five-pointLikert scale ranging from 1 ¼ strongly disagree to 5 ¼ strongly agree. In thisquestionnaire, items 5, 28, and 33 are reversely scored and the range of the score of thisscale is between 33 and 165. According to Schutte et al. (1998) the original SREIT hasdemonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach’s a ranging from 0.87 to 0.90), andgood two-week test-retest reliability ðr ¼ 0:78Þ:

The reliability of the Farsi version of the questionnaire was obtained which yieldedto a ¼ 0:73: The high school English teachers’ demographic characteristics were alsogathered with this instrument.

Job Satisfaction SurveyJob satisfaction was measured with the self-report Job Satisfaction Survey ( JSS)developed by Spector (1985). JSS has 36 items that adopt a six-point scale ranging from1 ¼ strongly disagree to 6 ¼ strongly agree. In this questionnaire, items 2, 4, 6, 8, 10,12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 21, 23, 24, 26, 29, 31, 32, 34, and 36 are reversely scored and the rangeof the score of this scale is between 36 and 216. As stated by Spector (1985) thetest-retest method for measuring reliability was conducted on three separate, smallsamples. The second survey was given between 12 and 18 months after the first in eachcase, and although the longer the researcher waits for the retest the lower thecorrelation tends to be, in these cases the correlation coefficients ranged from 0.37 to0.74. The fact that these were conducted this far apart and the correlation coefficientswere still high suggests a great deal of reliability and stability in the design of thisinstrument.

The reliability of the Farsi version of the questionnaire was obtained which yieldedto a ¼ 0:75:

Organizational Commitment QuestionnaireOrganizational commitment was measured with the self-report OrganizationalCommitment Questionnaire (OCQ) developed by Meyer and Allen (1997). OCQ has18 items (six items for each sub-scale called affective, normative, and continuance) andresponses to the items are rated using a five-point Likert scale and ranging from1 ¼ strongly disagree to 5 ¼ strongly agree. In this questionnaire, items 2, 8, 10, 12,and 14 got the reversed score and the range of the score of this scale is between 18 and90. Several studies have examined the reliability (alphas) of the OCQ. Allen and Meyer(1990) reported 0.87 for affective, 0.75 for continuance, 0.79 for normative, and 0.80 forthe reliability of the questionnaire in general. Dunham et al. (1994) found alpha rangesof 0.74 to 0.87 for affective, 0.73 to 0.81 for continuance, and 0.67 to 0.78 for normative.

The reliability of the Farsi version of the questionnaire was obtained which yieldedto a ¼ 0:71:

Data collection procedureThe three instruments – SREIT, JSS, and OCQ – were simultaneously administered tothe English teachers in the high schools involved in this study by the researcher. They

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were given enough time and instruction to answer these questionnaires. The consentsof the teachers and the school authorities were obtained and the purpose of the studywas explained to them before distributing the instruments.

Data analysis procedureThe data gathered from the respondents were downloaded into the Statistical Packagefor the Social Sciences (SPSS) for quantitative analysis. The correlation test was usedto determine whether a relationship exists between emotional intelligence and jobsatisfaction, between emotional intelligence and organizational commitment, and alsobetween job satisfaction and organizational commitment in this study. Because thedata are interval, the researcher used the Pearson product moment correlation. Todetermine whether there are significant differences among high school Englishteachers with different genders concerning each variable (EI, job satisfaction andorganizational commitment), independent t-test has been done. Finally, to investigatewhether there are significant differences among high school English teachers withdifferent ages concerning each variable (EI, job satisfaction and organizationalcommitment), one-way ANOVA was conducted. The results of the statistical tests willbe mentioned in the following chapter.

FindingsEI, job satisfaction, organizational commitmentIn order to answer RQ1, RQ2, and RQ3 regarding the relationship between EI and jobsatisfaction, between emotional intelligence and organizational commitment, andbetween job satisfaction and organizational commitment, Pearson Product-MomentCorrelation Coefficient was run. The results of this statistical analysis are presented inTable I.

As it can be seen in Table I, the results show that there is a positive significantcorrelation between EI and job satisfaction, between EI and organizationalcommitment, and between job satisfaction and organizational commitment.

EI, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and ageIn order to answer the first part of questions 4, 5, and 6 regarding differences amongEFL teachers with different ages concerning their EI, job satisfaction, andorganizational commitment, analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA) was run. Theresults of this statistical analysis are presented in Table II.

As it can be seen in the table, the results indicate that there is no significantdifference among different age groups of EFL teachers concerning their EI, jobsatisfaction, and organizational commitment.

Variables 1 2

1. Emotional intelligence 12. Job satisfaction 0.23 * 13. Organizational commitment 0.361 * * 0.497 * *

Note: *p , 0.05; * *p , 0.01

Table I.Correlation betweenvariables of the study

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EI, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and genderIn order to answer the second part of questions 4, 5, and 6 regarding gender differencesin EFL teachers’ emotional intelligence, job satisfaction, and organizationalcommitment, independent t-test analysis was conducted. The results of thisstatistical analysis are presented in Table III.

As it can be seen in the above table, the results show that there is no significantdifference among high school English teachers with different genders concerning theirjob satisfaction and organizational commitment, but EI scores are significantlydifferent between females and males high school English teachers, with femalesreporting higher EI level.

DiscussionIn this study six research questions have been investigated. First of all, concerning therelationship between EI and job satisfaction (RQ1) among high school Englishteachers, it was found that there was a positive significant correlation between EI andjob satisfaction. In other words, higher level of EI is associated with higher level of jobsatisfaction. These findings are in line with the ones reported by Adeyemo andOgunyemi (2005), Carmelli (2003), and Villard (2004). These results might be due to thefact that teachers with high emotional intelligence are able to recognize, manage, anduse their emotions to eliminate ensuing obstacles and advance their career horizonsthan those with low emotional intelligence.

Regarding the relationship between EI and organizational commitment (RQ2), itwas found that there was a positive significant correlation between EI andorganizational commitment. In other words, higher level of EI is associated with higher

Variable Age groups N M SD F df P

Emotional intelligence 23-33 28 113.17 24.85 2.15 B ¼ 2 0.1234-44 32 100.06 24.97 W ¼ 81 Ns *

45-55 24 107.25 23.52 T ¼ 83Job satisfaction 23-33 28 125.42 34.83 0.017 B ¼ 2 0.98

34-44 32 127.15 36.91 W ¼ 81 Ns *

45-55 24 126.54 36.98 T ¼ 83Organizationalcommitment 23-33 28 45.46 16.62 0.516 B ¼ 2 0.59

34-44 32 42.68 15.31 W ¼ 81 Ns *

45-55 24 41.2 14.24 T ¼ 83

Table II.ANOVA analysis-EI, job

satisfaction,organizational

commitment, and age

Variables Groups N M SD t df p

Emotional intelligence Male 29 98.34 26.35 2.23 82 0.028Female 55 110.78 23.15

Job satisfaction Male 29 118.96 35.48 1.39 82 0.16Female 55 130.32 35.69 Ns *

Organizational commitment Male 29 42.68 18.43 0.215 82 0.83Female 55 43.45 13.69 Ns *

Table III.T-test analysis – EI, job

satisfaction,organizational

commitment, and gender

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level of organizational commitment. These findings are in line with the ones reportedby Ashforth and Humphrey (1995) and Carmelli (2003). According to Abraham (2000)employees who were more able to recognize and express emotion, more able tounderstand their own and others emotions, more able to manage both positive andnegative emotions in themselves and others, and who were more able to effectivelycontrol strong emotional states experienced at work were more likely to be morecommitted to the organization than those employees who had difficulty with theseaspects of EI. Abraham (2000) suggested that those employees who had higher levelsof EI would view their relationship with the organization as an extension of therelationship they have with co-workers and managers.

Another important relationship examined in this study is the relationship betweenjob satisfaction and organizational commitment (RQ3). The current study supports theexistence of a positive significant correlation between job satisfaction andorganizational commitment. This result concurred with those of the previousresearchers (Rose, 1991; Petrides and Furham, 2006). A logical explanation of thisresult could be that organizational commitment is a function of job satisfaction. Thevarious dimensions of job satisfaction such as satisfaction with pay, co-worker,supervision, and work itself are needed by the workers to meet their basic needs. Whenteachers’ needs are met, there is the likelihood that the level of organizationalcommitment manifested by the teachers would be high.

With regard to RQ4 that deals with the role of age and gender in EI levels, it wasconcluded that there was no significant difference among different age groups of highschool English teachers concerning their EI. In other words, age did not have any rolein the high school English teachers’ EI levels. These findings confirmed the resultsreported by Chan (2004) and also Harrod and Scheer (2005). There was also significantdifference between emotional intelligence of male and female high school Englishteachers, with females reporting higher EI level. These findings were in line with theones reported by Harrod and Scheer (2005), while in conflict with the findings of Chan(2004), and Hopkins and Bilimoria (2008).

Regarding the role of age and gender in job satisfaction levels (RQ5), it wasconcluded that there was no significant difference between job satisfaction of male andfemale high school English teachers. These findings are consistent with the work ofArani (2003), and Klein (2007). It was also concluded that there was no significantdifference among the high school English teachers with different ages concerning theirjob satisfaction. In other words, age did not have any role in the high school Englishteachers’ job satisfaction levels. These findings were also in line with the ones reportedby Arani (2003), and Klein (2007).

Regarding the role of age and gender in organizational commitment (RQ6), it wasfound that there was no significant difference among the participants with differentages concerning their organizational commitment. In other words, age did not have anyrole in the high school English teachers’ organizational commitment. These resultssupport the work of previous researchers who found similar results (Savery and Syme,1996), but are in conflicts with the findings of Allen and Meyer (1990). The findings ofthis study also revealed that there were no significant gender differences amongparticipants concerning their organizational commitment. These findings support thework of previous researchers who reported similar findings (Shirbagi, 2007; Powell,2000, cited in Singh et al., 2004), while are in conflicts with the findings of Marchiori

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and Henkin (2004), Savery and Syme (1996), and Singh et al. (2004). The reason for thecontradictory findings may be related to such factors as culture, society, the context inwhich the research was carried out.

ConclusionsIn conclusion, it is important to note that without a good understanding of therelationship between job satisfaction and organizational commitment, betweenemotional intelligence and job satisfaction, as well as the relationship betweenemotional intelligence and organizational commitment, whatever intervention is doneto enhance organizational commitment may not achieve the expected result.

Due to the important effects of these constructs on educational system, therelationships between them were investigated in this study. It was found that therewere positive significant correlation between EI and job satisfaction, between EI andorganizational commitment and also between job satisfaction and organizationalcommitment. Furthermore, it was found that there was no significant difference amonghigh school English teachers with different genders and age concerning their jobsatisfaction and organizational commitment. Also the results showed no significantdifference among participants with different ages concerning their EI, but findings inthis study provide support for gender differences among participants concerning theirEI, with females reporting higher EI level.

The implication of these findings is that retaining talented and knowledgeableteachers becomes the concern of both the organizations and the individual teacher.

Organizations need to select teachers who have high emotional intelligence becausethis may have positive impact on the extent to which they can succeed in retainingtheir valuable work force.

Similarly, teachers who have high emotional intelligence are likely to be able tobalance work with organization demands in order to minimize work conflicts.Therefore, counseling and personnel psychologists should be used by variousorganizations and school systems to enhance the emotional intelligence of teachers.Various organizations that employ teachers have the responsibility for providingattractive and conducive working environments that will motivate the teachers andenhance their commitment and satisfaction to their career and organizations.

Based on the results of this study some recommendations and implications, for bothmanagers and researchers, can be suggested. Managers need to understand thatteachers’ work outcomes are likely to be influenced by their EI; which in turn isaffected by their interaction with their colleagues and managers. Superiors need tounderstand how to manage their EI before trying to develop the EI of theirsubordinates. Moreover, the conflict that teachers face at their work is likely to havenegative influence on their readiness to create and innovate. Therefore, they may tendto participate, but not to create, innovate and/or produce. To reduce the conflict,organizations must consider and try to increase the levels of EI for their teachers. Thiswill help them to increase their job satisfaction and organizational commitment.

The other findings of this study showed that there was no significant differenceamong high school English teachers with different age and genders concerning theirjob satisfaction and organizational commitment. Therefore, it is suggested that highschool English teachers can increase their job satisfaction and organizationalcommitment regardless of their age group and gender. In other words, all teachers

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regardless of their age and gender can improve these characteristics and enjoy themduring all the time in their life. Furthermore, the findings in this study provide supportfor gender differences among participants concerning their EI, with females reportinghigher EI level. It is implied that female teachers might have the higher abilities torecognize and regulate self and other’s emotions than males and they are more effectiveteachers, so the organizations and school systems can use more female teachers toenhance their effectiveness.

As with any study of this nature, a number of limitations have to be pointed out.First, although this study utilized validated and usable measures, the data collectedwere from self-report measures that have their obvious limitations and as with allself-report measures, social desirability biases are a concern (Bagozzi and Yi, 1978,cited in Gardner, 1983; Williams and Brown, 1982, cited in Gardner, 1983). Second, thedesign of this investigation does not allow making causal statements. Finally, theinvestigation was conducted with a small sample that may be not representative of thepopulation, so one should be careful to make generalizations to other populations. Alarger sample size would help in the robustness of the findings, especially if thesample’s variability is large.

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Further reading

Angle, H. and Perry, J. (1991), “An empirical assessment of organizational commitment andorganizational effectiveness”, Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 26 No. 1, pp. 1-14.

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Bryman, A. (1992), Charisma and Leadership in Organizations, Sage Publications, London.

Hingley, P. and Cooper, C.L. (1986), Stress and the Nurse Manager, Wiley, Chichester.

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Langhorn, S. (2004), “How emotional intelligence can improve management performance”,International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 16 No. 4, pp. 220-30.

Lu, H., While, A. and Barriball, L. (2005), “Job satisfaction among nurses: a literature review”,International Journal of Nursing Study, Vol. 42, pp. 211-27.

Lu, H., While, A. and Barriball, L. (2007), “Job satisfaction and its related factors: a questionnairesurvey of hospital nurses in Mainland China”, International Journal of Nursing Studies,Vol. 44, pp. 574-88.

Rosse, J.G. and Rosse, P.H. (1981), “Role conflict and role ambiguity: an empirical investigation ofnursing personnel”, Evaluation and the Health Professional, Vol. 4, pp. 385-405.

Tovey, E. and Adams, A. (1999), “The changing nature of nurses’ job satisfaction: an explorationof sources of satisfaction in the 1990s”, Journal of Advanced Nursing, Vol. 30 No. 1,pp. 150-8.

Wong, C.S. and Law, K.S. (2002), “The effect of leader and follower emotional intelligence onperformance and attitude: an exploratory study”, The Leadership Quarterly, Vol. 13,pp. 243-74.

About the authorNahid Naderi Anari is a Professor at Islamic Azad University, Anar Branch, Anar, Iran. She is afaculty member at the university and is interested in researching the teaching profession andpsycholinguistics. She holds a Master’s degree in English Teaching and a Bachelor’s degree inEnglish translation, both from Shahid Bahonar University in Kerman, Iran. Nahid Naderi Anarican be contacted at: naderi_nahid1@yahoo.com

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