Today emotional intelligence is increasingly relevant to the success of management as well as employees in every respect, be it internal issues like conflict resolution, group dynamics, leadership and motivation or the external issues like customer relationship management, brand loyalty and corporate social responsibility (CSR). There is limited research on the impact of emotional intelligence on job stress and workplace conduct. The objective of the article is to understand the relationship between occupational stress and emotional intelligence. It also attempts to study the impact of some demographic variables (gender, age, work experience) on occupational stress. Simple random sampling was used to collect data from teaching and non-teaching staff working in universities and educational institutions in Uttar Pradesh, India. SPSS 21 was used for data analysis using statistical tools like correlation, Mann-Whitney and Kruskal Wallis tests. Results show a significant relationship between emotional intelligence and occupational stress. The female employees were found to have greater stress levels as compared to their male counterparts. Age is found to have an impact on occupational stress of university teachers. The employees in their forties were found to have higher stress levels than younger employees. Work experience is also found to have an impact on occupational stress of university teachers. It was observed that employees with a work experience of more than 30 years have maximum levels of occupational stress. Based on the findings of this study, the managers should take special measures to take care of female employees and minimize factors which lead to their stress. The policies and work culture of the organization should create a conducive ambience for female employees. The organization should provide support and counselling to employees in their forties to sort out their stress-related issues which would eventually enhance their productivity. The employees with a work experience of more than 30 years (usually older ones) should get support and any stress-causing issues such as post-retirement benefits should be explained and clarified. This study adds to the current body of knowledge from a theoretical perspective. It enriches the understanding of the relationship between emotional intelligence, demographic variables and occupational stress. The top management of the organization can enhance their organization's effectiveness by learning from the findings of this study.
