Exploring the emotional terrain: a comprehensive systematic literature review of the effects of emotional intelligence on stress and performance

Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to an individual's ability in identifying, comprehending, and regulating their own emotions, beside their capability to perceive and manage the emotions of others. Stress, a prevalent feature of modern living has significant ramification for one's overall well-being. Understanding the EI role in stress management is crucial to promote psychological resilience and well-being. The focus of the study is to review the literature on the relation between EI and stress. This paper presents a structural overview of 98 papers published in Scopus indexed journals. The existing literature in the field is presented in four focus areas: the impact of gender on EI, EI and stress on performance, the relationship between EI and work-life balance (WLB), EI and stress. The findings indicate that gender differences exist in EI and stress levels, positive correlation between EI and performance, and contribution of EI to WLB.