Emotional intelligence as a moderator of stress appraisal and coping in the workplace.

We propose a detailed model of the role of emotional intelligence as a moderator of stress appraisal and coping in work place settings. The model we present represents a deconstruction of the component parts of Affective Events Theory (AET: Weiss & Cropanzano, 1996), and incorporates emotional intelligence, and theories of psychosocial process and self-regulation. The model also represents an elaboration of Jordan, Ashkanasy, and Härtel (2002), who proposed that emotional intelligence moderates the effects of job insecurity on employees' personal work outcomes. AET, which lies at the core of our model, predicts that the events in the work environment trigger affective responses that lead, in turn, to attitudinal and behavioural responses. In our model, we address in particular the effect of stressful events, and develop the affective response component of AET in terms of a two part process of stress appraisal and coping. The cognitive processes involved in appraisal and coping are argued to be associated with the Mayer and Salovey (1997) conceptualisation of emotional intelligence. As such, appraisal of affective events is characterised in terms of emotional perception and assimilation, while coping strategies are determined by emotional understanding and management. As these parallel the components of Mayer and Salovey's model of emotional intelligence, then emotional intelligence can be seen to moderate the processes of affective response, consistent with the Jordan et al. theory. We conclude with a discussion of the research and practical implications of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]