Influence of Emotional Intelligence and Gender on Job Satisfaction among Local Government Employees

Abstract

The study examined the influence of emotional intelligence and gender on job satisfaction among employees of Owerri Municipal and Oguta Local Government Councils, in Imo State, South East Nigeria. One hundred and sixty fulltime employees of the councils with ages ranging from 25 – 52 years and a mean age of 37.5 were drawn through accidental sampling. Two standardized instruments were used in this study; the Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire by Schutte et al. (1998) and the Minnesota Satisfaction Inventory by Weiss, Dawis, England and Lofquist (1967). A cross-sectional survey design was adopted while a 2-Way Analysis of Variance on SPSS version 17 was used for data analysis. Results showed that emotional intelligence had a significant influence on job satisfaction, with high emotionally intelligent employees showing more satisfaction. The result however showed that gender had no significant influence on job satisfaction. Also, no interaction effect was found between the variables. The results were discussed in line with current studies on emotional intelligence, gender and job satisfaction.