The Dark Side of Emotional Intelligence

For mechanics, scientists, and accountants, emotional intelligence was a liability rather than an asset. Although more research is needed to unpack these results, one promising explanation is that these employees were paying attention to emotions when they should have been focusing on their tasks. If your job is to analyze data or repair cars, it can be quite distracting to read the facial expressions, vocal tones, and body languages of the people around you.

Thanks to more rigorous research methods, there is growing recognition that emotional intelligence—like any skill—can be used for good or evil.