Almost everyone wants to increase the amount of money they earn but the problem is that to do so it often means longer hours, extra stress and less time available to spend with family and friends. However, there is a simple way that you can increase your salary, maintain those important working relationships and spend quality time at home.
Latest research indicates that people earn more money if they work on becoming more emotionally intelligent. In other words, working on your relationships can help your progress professionally.
TalentSmart® conducted a study in which they looked at the EQ (emotional intelligence) of over 42,000 people. Using the Emotional Intelligence Appraisal®, they compared their EQ with their annual salary and discovered that those scoring higher earn $29,000 a year on average more than those who scored low. It seems that for every EQ point you gain you can add around $1.3K to your annual income. Whatever the original score is, even if it is low, by increasing it you will see an increase in salary.
EQ is made up of four main skills. These are not related to IQ (intelligence quotient) and a high IQ does not necessarily mean a high EQ. IQ can be hard to change but the skills involved in EQ are flexible and if you work on them they will improve over time.
The 4 key skills are:
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Self-Awareness– the perception of your own emotions in the moment that you feel them, your understanding of your own tendency to respond a certain way in given situations, and the ability to be honest and accurate with your appraisal of these.
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Self-Management– the ability to take self-awareness and use it to be emotionally flexible and to ensure that your behavior is directed positively.
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Social Awareness– Being able to pick up emotions in others accurately, to really be able to understand how they feel, empathy.
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Relationship Management– Using all of the above 3 skills to make sure you manage your interactions with other people successfully.
Most of us already understand a lot about the benefits of a higher EQ and that within companies people who are aware of themselves and others are a valuable part of any organization. However, it seems that most people are not able to make their EQ work for them. Although many realize the importance of EQ, they are not willing to put in the work to improve it and make it work for them. Others may consider EQ to be a weaker set of skills, but the actual question most people are subconsciously asking themselves when deciding to hone their EQ skills is; what do I get out of it?
Well, now you know, if you want a cash injection then hike your EQ. Yes, it will help make people much better managers and better able to lead properly, in the sales team high EQ will increase the figures, but if you want to get people onboard try telling them they are going to be making more money!
People with a high EQ make more money because EQ makes them a more effective worker, they are more valuable to the organization so they are worth more in financial terms. They perform well even when stressed, the teams they head up are productive and they make good and impartial decisions. In fact, the list goes on. People with a high EQ will help an organization prosper and in turn, will prosper themselves.