Does Emotional Intelligence Influence Employee Engagement in Ghanaian Public Organisations?

Over the years, many organisations in Ghana have been grappling with challenges related to employee engagement and emotional intelligence. Nonetheless, their influence on productivity in the workplace and the overall satisfaction of most Ghanaian employees is huge, yet a great number find it difficult to engage effectively as well as have problems managing emotions. The aim of this paper is to critically examine whether emotional intelligence improves employee engagement in public organisations in the Eastern Region of Ghana. A quantitative method was used to gather data from 118 employees. The questionnaires were statistically validated using exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Furthermore, descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to explain the data. The findings revealed a low level of emotional intelligence and engagement among the employees. This study concludes that there is a significant statistical relationship between emotional intelligence and employee engagement in public organisations in Ghana. The results demonstrate a significant association between emotional intelligence dimensions and dimensions of employee engagement. In relation to regression, vigour and dedication consistently show significant relationships with emotional intelligence dimensions, whereas absorption shows mixed results, being significant in some models but not others.