Perceived emotional intelligence and individual resilience in a cross-sector sample of employees

Introduction Emotional resilience is a key psychological resource for maintaining well-being and adaptation in the workplace and is closely associated with perceived emotional intelligence. However, understanding of this relationship among working populations remains limited. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between perceived emotional intelligence and resilience and to explore their associations with sociodemographic and occupational variables. Methods Using a cross-sectional observational design, the study included 103 employees from 11 organizations across seven sectors in Spain. Participants completed an online questionnaire including the Spanish-adapted Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS-S), the Resilience Scale-14 (RS-14) and sociodemographic and occupational variables. Results A positive and statistically significant association was found between perceived emotional intelligence and resilience ( r = 0.762, p < 0.001). All four dimensions of perceived emotional intelligence were also positively and significantly associated with resilience, with the strongest association observed for use of emotion ( r = 0.785) and the weakest for others’ emotion appraisal ( r = 0.335). No significant associations were found between resilience and the sociodemographic and occupational variables examined. Discussion The findings support an association between perceived emotional intelligence and resilience in the workplace and indicate differences in the magnitude of the associations across the dimensions of perceived emotional intelligence. However, given the cross-sectional design and the use of self-report measures, the results should be interpreted in associative rather than causal terms. Further research is needed to examine the relationship between the two constructs and their empirical distinctiveness.