View of “A STUDY OF, EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND SELF EFFICACY AS DETERMINANTS FOR BEHAVIORAL REACTIONS TOWARDS WORK-OVERLOAD IN DOCTORS OF INDORE, M.P.”

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Vol.04,Special Issue 08, (EMDMSCBW-2019) December 2019, Available Online: www.ajeee.co.in/index.php/AJEEE

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“A STUDY OF, EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND SELF EFFICACY AS DETERMINANTS FOR BEHAVIORAL REACTIONS TOWARDS WORK-OVERLOAD IN DOCTORS OF

INDORE, M.P.”

Prof. Neetika Shrivastava

Assistant Professor, Daly College of Business Management, Indore, M.P.

Abstract - The aim of the study was to establish Emotional Intelligence and Self-Efficacy as determinants for behavioral reactions towards Work Overload in Doctors of Indore, M.P. The existence of these relationships was explored through a non-experimental controlled inquiry. The constructs were defined as follows: Emotional Intelligence, as the ability to monitor one's own and others' feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one's thinking and actions (Salovey and Mayer, 1990); Self- Efficacy, as an individual's belief to exercise control and manage courses of action required to attain desired results (Bandura); and Work Overload, as employees' perceptions that they have too many tasks to perform within a specified time.

A sample of 150 doctors was randomly selected from public and private Medical Establishments of Indore as per the convenience of the author. These 150 doctors completed the questionnaire designed to access various variables involved in this study.

The data collected was analyzed using the multiple regression analysis. Significant negative relationships were reported for Emotional Intelligence and Work Overload, Self Efficacy and Work Overload. This indicates that the doctors who have high Emotional Intelligence and high Self Efficacy feel less Work Overload. The limitation of the study and recommendations for future research were discussed.

Keywords: Emotional Intelligence, Work Overload, Self-Efficacy.

1. INTRODUCTION

This research was focused on the doctors working in the Public and Private Medical establishments of Indore. It is difficult for people working in Medical Profession to keep themselves away from the stress because of their busy schedules. They have to maintain balance between their professional and personal life. They have to deal with patients and here it is necessary that they are able to maintain their calm even in stressful situations.

They need have full faith in themselves and have the ability to handle challenging contingencies coming in their profession. The current study was conducted to see what effect Emotional Intelligence and Self Efficacy can have on Doctors perception about work overload. If doctors are able to take correct decisions even in emotional situations, can regulate their emotions as well as emotions of the patients and people working with them, they will be able to do their work with perfection. There can be different situations which come up for the medical establishment they are working for. If a doctor is emotionally sound, he or she will be able to tackle them.

Emotional Intelligence describes a concept that involves the ability, capacity, skill or a self-perceived ability, to identify, assess, and manage the emotions of one's self, of others, and of groups. Salovey and Mayer (1990) defined EI as “the ability to monitor one's own and others' feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one's thinking and actions.”

According to Bandura (1997), perceived self-efficacy refers to beliefs in one’s own capacity to organize and execute the courses of action required to manage prospective situations. The principal source of self-efficacy is enactive mastering, which depends on both real and perceived execution of the task. Other sources of self-efficacy are the verbal persuasion of others, vicarious learning and emotional activation. Research shows that one’s own beliefs of efficacy function as an important determinant of motivation, affect, thought and action (Bandura, 1992).

Generally, overload refers to a situation where multiple demands exceed available resources and may be either qualitative or quantitative. Quantitative overload refers to employees' perceptions that they have too many tasks to perform within a specified time (Greenglass, Burke, & Moore, 2003). In contrast, qualitative overload describes the difficulty of a given task. The focus of the present paper was on quantitative overload because it is a malaise in modern organizations as they struggle to maintain competitive advantage in the market economy.

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The main objective to this study was to examine, Emotional Intelligence and Self Efficacy as determinants for behavioral reactions towards Work-overload in Doctors of Indore. One sub-objective of this study was to study the effect of Demographic variables like Sector of Employment and Gender on Work Overload. Following Hypotheses were proposed:

1. H1: A significant negative relationship will exist between Emotional Intelligence and Work Overload.

2. H2: A significant negative relationship will exist between Self Efficacy and Work Overload.

3. H3: There will be significant difference in the level of perceived Work Overload for Doctors employed in Public Sector and Private Sector

4. H4: There will be significant difference in the level of perceived Work Overload for male and female doctors

2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 2.1 Research Design

In order to explore the relationship between Emotional Intelligence, Self-efficacy and Work Overload a controlled inquiry of non-experimental kind was followed. For the study co- relational and multivariate research as a type of relational research was employed as it allowed to simultaneously determining the degree and direction of relationship between dependent and independent variables.

2.2 Data Collection

Questionnaire consisting of scales on Self efficacy, Emotional Intelligence and Work Overload was created for collecting the primary data to conduct this research. The respondents were asked to fill some necessary personal information and the questionnaire was further divided into following three parts accessing:

The survey was self administered between the doctors of Indore. The doctors were consulted at the respective Medical Organizations where they are employed and confidentiality of their responses was assured. Some of the organizations where the survey was conducted are: MY Hospital, Prakash Chandra Sethi Nursing Home, Kalyanmal Nursing Home, Vishesh Hospital & Research Center, Sri Aurbindo Medical College &

Hospital, Life Line Hospital, Suyash Hospital and some other public and private Medical organizations of Indore.

2.3 Measures

All participants gave their responses on scales measuring emotional intelligence, self efficacy, work-overload and organizational commitment.

2.3.1 Criterions

A. Work-overload: Respondents rated 5 items that assess quantitative workload (Spector & Jex, 1998). An example of the scale items is: "How often do you have to do more work than you can do well". Responses are ordered on a five-point format as: Never (1) to several times per day (5). High scores on this scale reflect employees' perceptions of having too much work to accomplish in a limited time, (Cronbach alpha = 0.78).

2.3.2 Predictors

A. Self-efficacy: The general self-efficacy was assessed using a 10-item measure (Jerusalem & Schwarzer, 1992). An example of the scale items is: "I am certain that I can accomplish my goals". Item ratings range from strongly disagreed (1) to agreed (5), (Cronbach alpha = 0.81). Higher scores indicate increasing levels of SE, and lower scores reflected low efficacious belief.

B. Emotional Intelligence: Emotional Intelligence was indexed using 10 items from Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence Scale. Every question had 4 options from which the respondents had to choose the option which is closest to their possible action. Every correct answer is given 20 marks and later it is added and compared to different category: 0-100 Low Emotional Intelligence. Respondent needs to work on EQ. 100-150 shows High Emotional Intelligence which is not bad and respondent

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can still improve. Above 150 and till 200 signifies Very high Emotional Intelligence.

(Reliability = 0.73)

2.3.3 Demographics/Control Variables Research included following control variables,

1. Work Sector. (1 = Public Sector and 2 = Private Sector) 2. Gender. (1 = Male and 2 = Female)

2.4 Sample Design

2.4.1 Sample Size and Sampling Unit

The research was based on doctors who are working in Public and Private Medical Organizations of Indore, M.P. The total number of respondents was 150. There were equal number of doctors from public and private sector, i.e 75 each.

2.4.2 Sampling Procedure

Use of Convenience sampling was done to select the Sample Units (Individual Doctors).

In convenience sampling, the selection of units from the population is based on easy availability and/or accessibility. Direct visits were made to the public and private medical establishments of Indore and doctors employed their, were requested to participate in the study.

2.4.3 Sample Detail

The age of the respondents varied between 25 years and 84 years. The average age of the respondents who participated in the study was 42 years. The sample comprised of 99 Male Doctors and 51 Female Doctors.

3. RESULTS

Hypotheses were proposed as per construct and relevant data analysis techniques were used to examine these hypotheses using SPSS software. A number of analysis were done with regards to demographic variables such as Sector and Gender, to determine whether any significant differences exist between groups regarding the various variables.

3.1 Results of Correlation & Regression

The relationship between various variables was investigated through the calculation of Pearson product-moment coefficient. The Correlation between Self Efficacy and Emotional Intelligence were also calculated. Results are presented in Table 3.1. The results partly confirm the hypotheses and indicate that: a moderate but significant negative relationship exists between Emotional Intelligence and work overload (r=-0.363, n=150, p<0.01); and a moderate but significant negative relationship exists between Self Efficacy and Work Overload (r=-0.381, n=150, p<0.01). Results indicate that where respondents report higher levels of Emotional intelligence and Self efficacy it is more then likely that they will report lower levels of Work Overload.

Table 3.1 Correlations between Emotional Intelligence, Self-Efficacy and Work Overload and Organizational Commitment

Self-

Efficacy Emotional

Intelligence Work Overload Self-

Efficacy

Pearson Correlation 1 .578(**) -.381(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000

N 150 150 150

Emotional Intelligence

Pearson Correlation .578(**) 1 -.363(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000

N 150 150 150

Work Overload

Pearson Correlation -.381(**) -.363(**) 1

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000

N 150 150 150

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** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

In this research regression analysis were also conducted to gain information on amount of variance in Work Overload explained by Emotional Intelligence and Self efficacy.

The R square values are also reported for the Regression Results.

A linear regression was conducted with Work Overload as dependent variable to determine amount of variance explained by Emotional Intelligence and Self Efficacy. It was found that combined model of EI and SE, explained 17.6% of variance in Work Overload.

The results were significant for Emotional Intelligence (β=-0.214, ρ=0.021) and Self Efficacy (β=-0.257, ρ=0.006). Hypothesis H1 and Hypothesis H2 are therefore accepted. Table 3.2 presents model summary and standardized coefficients are presented in table 3.3.

Table 3.2 Model Summary Work Overload Model R R Square Adjusted R

Square Std. Error of the Estimate

1 .419(a) .176 .165 4.46238

a. Predictors: (Constant), Self-Efficacy, Emotional Intelligence Table 3.3 Coefficients for Work Overload

Model Unstandardized

Coefficients Standardiz ed Coefficien ts

t Sig.

B Std. Error Beta (Constant) 13.77180

888 3.67225544

1 3.750231

732 0.000253

478 Self-Efficacy 0.322914

427 0.13476927

2 0.2225617

44 2.396053

807 0.017830

368 Emotional

Intelligence 0.051172

632 0.02154026

6 0.2206686

52 2.375673

166 0.018806

387 a. Dependent Variable: work Overload

3.2 Results of t-Test

Independent samples t-tests were conducted to determine whether significant differences on mean scores exist between doctors who work in Public sector versus doctors working in Private Sector and to understand the impact of gender on work overload.

No significant difference was found between the two groups for scores reported for Work Overload (t=0.163). Therefore, hypothesis H3 was rejected. This could be interpreted that the sector of employment has no impact on Work Overload. The values of mean and standard deviation are presented in table 4.4

Table 3.4 Group Statistics Work Overload and Sector of Employment

Sector N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean Work Overload Government 75 16.57333333 4.736783415 0.546956636

Private 75 16.44 5.289561367 0.610785936 No significant difference was found between the two groups for scores reported for Work Overload (t=-1.178). Therefore, Hypothesis H4 was rejected. This could be interpreted that the gender of doctor has no impact on Work Overload. The values of mean and standard deviation are presented in table 3.5

Table 3.5 Group Statistics for Work Overload and Gender

Gender N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean Work Overload Male 99 16.16161616 5.223000683 0.52493132

Female 51 17.17647059 4.524183384 0.633512389

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4. DISCUSSIONS

The results of data analysis pertaining to Emotional Intelligence and Work overload indicate moderate relationship between both. The relationship proved to be significant suggesting that doctors who have high emotional intelligence will experience less Work Overload.

Salovey, P., & Mayer, J.D. (1990) says that people with emotional intelligence have a positive mental health to regulate their emotions and proceed towards their important goals whereas, with deficit emotional intelligence people do not regulate their emotions they may become slave to them. And Mayer, J.D et al., (2004) stated in their investigation that high EI individuals tend to be more open and agreeable than others. They even drew to occupation involving social interaction and also they avoid self-destructive and negative behavior tasks.

The results of data analysis pertaining to Self-Efficacy and Work Overload indicate moderate relationship between both. The relationship proved to be significant suggesting that doctors who have high Self Efficacy beliefs will experience less Work Overload. The hypothesized interaction effect between overload and SE was supported in this study was is in line with past studies (Jex & Gudanowski, 1992; Jex et al., 2001; Salanova et al., 2002).

In this study, results show efficacious doctors to be less affected by overload than low- efficacious employees. Because efficacious employees have control over work (Salanova et al., 2002), and set higher goals, they are likely to view higher workload as a challenge within their capability to achieve higher performance.

Efficacious individuals are usually eager to engage on current tasks to surpass earlier performance level as accomplishments that surpass earlier ones bring on a continued sense of self-satisfaction. Efficacious individuals are found to use different and more effective coping strategies than low efficacious persons (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984).

Higher workload will motivate efficacious individuals to mobilize resources and strive to attain desired results. Efficacious individuals, who are facing challenges and difficult goals, exert greater effort to achieve set target (Bandura, 2000; Bandura & Locke, 2003).

It was argued that doctors who work in Private sector should report higher levels of Work Overload then public sector due to aspects such as restricted time table, better opportunities, unreliability in job, etc. The results show that perception of work overload for doctors working with public and private sectors do not vary significantly. Christiana. M

& Mahalakshmi (2013) also found that there is no significant difference in the stress experienced by both the public and private sector managers. Whereas, Mokshagunda &

Janardhanam (2018) in a study on Occupational Stress as Experienced by Private and Public Sector Bank Employees found a significant difference between the employees of public and private sector banks in their role overload level.

It was assumed that Female doctors have to look after their family and work life both and they are generally more drifted towards their personal life and have to establish a balance between both, therefore Female doctors should have more Work Overload then Male doctors. The current study reported no gender differences in work overload, which was in congruence with a research done by Nguyen & Ermasova, 2015 which found that gender did not play a significant role in prediction of work overload stress prediction in Dutch working adults. Whereas, a study conducted by AniĠei, Chraifa, and IoniĠăa (2015) to understand the Gender differences in workload and self-perceived burnout in a multinational company from Bucharest shows significant differences between women and men in workload and burnout which means women are characterized by significantly higher levels of burnout and workload than men.

5. CONCLUSION

This study provided evidence that confirmed the relationships between: Emotional intelligence and Work Overload; Self efficacy and Work Overload; in doctors of Indore. It was found that Emotional Intelligence and Self Efficacy help in reducing Work Overload. It is essential that doctors don’t feel that they are overloaded or else it can result in stress and burnout.

It is essential that Emotional Intelligence and Self Efficacy of doctors is given proper attention. This can help in removing psychological barriers, improving decision making capabilities of the doctors, dealing with the lower level staff of the organization and above all dealing in proper manner with the patients. They need to develop patience while handling difficult patients in their profession they cannot lose their calm on a person who is sick.

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They also have to deal with the attendants who are always disturbing and giving irrelevant advices here they need to regulate their emotions as well need to have control on their behaviors as well. Trainings on Emotional Intelligence and Self Efficacy will address aspects such as anger, stress, anxiety, which in turn will have positive impact on both personal and professional relationships. Hence it can be said that it is essential to develop effective Emotional Intelligence and Self Efficacy in doctors so that they are able to cope with the challenges of their professional and personal life.

5.1 Limitations & Scope for Future Research

The data in this study was obtained using self-report measures, and the results may be contaminated by the variance of the common method. It would be appropriate to complement these measurements with others obtained with different methods. Although the results were quite significant, with a sample size of 150, a larger sample size could have yielded different results. Recommendations for future research include a replication of this study conducted with a larger sample as a follow up-study. Results obtained in regression analysis suggest that it would be sensible to include Emotional Intelligence and Self Efficacy trainings in the curriculum of doctors. It is suggested future research include a pre and post test for Emotional Intelligence, Self-efficacy, and Work Overload, with inclusion of Emotional Intelligence and Self Efficacy trainings, to access their impacts on Work Overload by means of an intervention study.

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