The relationship between emotional intelligence and altruism among South Korean central government officials

I examined the relationship of emotional intelligence (EI) with altruistic-distant behavior and altruistic-local behavior among public officials in the South Korean Central Government. Because South Korean public officials are accustomed to a strong bureaucratic system and value personal connections, I predicted that they would generate higher altruistic-local behavior than altruistic-distant behavior. Results showed that all EI factors were significantly and positively associated with altruistic-distant behavior, and altruistic-local behavior was associated with factors of awareness of others’ emotions and management of one’s own emotions. Individuals with high EI exhibited both altruistic-local behavior and altruistic-distant behavior in the workplace, regardless of their personal connections.