A Multilevel Analysis of Relationships Between Leaders’ and Subordinates’ Emotional Intelligence and Emotional Outcomes

Konstantinos Kafetsios , Aikaterini Vasiou , John B. Nezlek

Abstract

The present study examined relationships between leaders' emotional intelligence (EI) and subordinates' emotion and work attitudes and between leaders' and subordinates' EI and work outcomes. School directors and educators completed measures of EI, affect at work, job satisfaction, and burnout. A series of multilevel analyses found that leaders' use of emotion was positively related to subordinates' work emotionality and attitudes, whereas leaders' emotion regulation and self-emotion appraisal were negatively related to subordinates' emotion and work attitudes. Leaders' and subordinates' own EI was positively related to their own work emotionality and job satisfaction. These findings support a social interactionist perspective on emotions at work and a multilevel understanding of the effects of leaders' emotions intrapersonally and interpersonally.