Rajendran, Downey & Stough :Assessing Emotional Intelligence in the Indian workplace: a preliminary reliability study.

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Assessing Emotional Intelligence in the Indian workplace: a preliminary reliability study Diana Rajendran (drajendran@swin.edu.au)
Department of Management
Swinburne University, PO Box 218, Lilydale, Victoria, 3140,

Luke A. Downey: (ldowney@swin.edu.au)
Brain Sciences Institute
Swinburne University, PO Box 218 (H99), Hawthorn Vic 3122, Australia.

Professor Con Stough (cstough@swin.edu.au)
Professor in Cognitive Neuroscience, Director, Brain Sciences Institute.
Swinburne University, PO Box 218 (H99), Hawthorn Vic 3122, Australia.

Abstract
The concept of Emotional Intelligence (EI) has recently attracted a great amount of interest from HR practitioners and academics alike. Whilst the majority of research in this area has been conducted in Western countries, recent studies have begun to assess the generalisability and validity of the EI concept in cross-cultural settings. The purpose of this paper was to assess the reliability of the
Workplace version of the Swinburne University
Emotional Intelligence Test (Workplace SUEIT) in an
Indian population. The Workplace SUEIT demonstrated adequate reliability in the sample of 110 participants in
India, although the mean scores for the sub-scales were significantly lower than in the Australian normative population. The results are discussed in the context that
EI tests need to undergo cross-cultural examination to assess their validity and cultural relevance. Researchers using Indian workplace samples are needed to evaluate the predictive validity of tests of EI in the Indian context.

Key Words: Emotional Intelligence; Culture; India;
Reliability
In an era of shifting paradigms, one of the world’s fastest growing emerging economies, such as India, should be