Emotional intelligence: A frontline view of decision making in a Greek bank

This research was a first attempt to address the problem that frontline employees are not adequately prepared to perform the high work demands effectively. The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study was to examine the relationship between emotional intelligence and effective decision making of frontline employees in a Greek bank. A survey questionnaire comprised 64 items in the Greek language was used to collect the data. The final sample included 296 usable surveys for data analysis. Significant positive relationships (p < .01) existed between emotional intelligence and effective decision making signifying emotions and feelings are as critical as technical competencies. The data findings denote the importance of an integrative and balanced synthesis of technical and emotional competencies within a frontline context and the need of both intrapersonal and interpersonal frontline leadership to advance decision making to unique levels of excellence. The recommendations emerged from the study could be important to scholars, practitioners, and future research.