The relationship between emotional intelligence and job stress in the faculty of medicine in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences

Introduction: health care professionals especially clinicians, undergo lots of job stress (JS). Emotional intelligence (EI) is among the variables that appear to be associated with stress. It is also included among the ways adopted by the individuals in order to resist JS in the workplace. Thus, this study aims to investigate the relationship between EI and JS in the faculty members of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences (IUMS). Methods: This was a correlational study performed on 202 faculty members of IUMS. The data was gathered through two valid and reliable questionnaires (Bradberry EI questionnaire and JS questionnaire), being analyzed by SPSS software using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient, t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and linear regression analysis (α=0.05). Results: 142 individuals (70.30%) filled out the questionnaires. 75% of the respondents were male and 98% were married. There was an inverse correlation between the total score of EI and the level of JS (r=-0.235, p=0.005). Moreover, among the factors of EI, self-awareness and self-management scores had significant inverse relationship with the level of JS. Linear regression analysis showed that the EI factors explained approximately 7% of the variance of JS levels of the teachers. Conclusions: Individuals with high EI have less JS. Since the EI can be taught, it can be expected that the JS of faculty members can be reduced through training them on emotional intelligence. Therefore, it is recommended that short-term training courses be scheduled and designed based on the concepts of EI for teachers, particularly clinicians.