Abstract:
The academic staff in the university is a vital
component in enhancement of academic affairs in any university.
Due to the unending changes and dynamics that increase
pressure and work related stress that academic staffs are
subjected to, they are required to develop high levels of
adaptability in their careers to enhance creativity so that they
remain relevant. The study was based on Emotional intelligence
theory and Career construction theory. A descriptive survey
research design was used for this study. The target population
was 403 academic staffs from selected universities in Nairobi
County, Kenya. The total sample size was 201 respondents
selected using two stage cluster sampling. Data was collected
using Emotional Intelligence Scale EI (PcSc) scale developed by
Mehta & Singh (2013). To establish internal consistency of the
instrument, reliability was determined and Cronbach’s alpha
coefficient was 0.824. Descriptive statistics were applied to
analyze quantitative data using SPSS. The study had several
findings: High means in indicators of emotional intelligence were
recorded where the highest score was in self- awareness (Mean =
4.13 ± .53). This was followed by self- motivation (Mean = 3.85 ±
.53), social skill was rated the third aspect of emotional
intelligence (Mean = 3.83 ± .43) and the lowest was emotional
regulation (Mean = 3.68 ± .55). The findings also indicated that
there were differences in the mean score of Emotional
intelligence across age, gender, education level, type of university
and teaching experience. However the analysis of variance
showed no significant differences in emotional intelligence in
terms of age and gender. Moreover, only the mean of social skills
had a significant difference in terms of level of education,
experience and type of university. The major recommendation
therefore given by the research was enhancement of selfawareness, self- motivation, emotional regulation and social skills
strategies both by individuals and various organizations in order
to improve job outcomes. This would be through trainings,
guidance and counselling and team building. The researcher
anticipated that the results from the study will facilitate the
formation of an academic staff that are holistically intelligent.
