Assistant Professor The University of Southern Mississippi Long Beach, Mississippi, United States
Abstract: The modern workplace faces a range of extra-organizational environmental stimulus, many of which put employees into highly emotional states. The investigation of these affective events in the lives of collectivist workers remains incomplete. This research introduces affective events theory and the ability-based conception of emotional intelligence into a discussion of collectivist cultures. The assertion is made that employees within faith-based collectivist subcultures utilize their emotional intelligence to facilitate grit and resilience. Hypotheses suggest a mediated relationship between collectivism and both grit and resilience via emotional intelligence. Data focused on a regional population of employees in the United States support these hypotheses. The results highlight the translation of collectivism through emotional intelligence. Workers can use their cultural focus on group success and interdependence to fight against affective events by understanding and managing emotion. This research adds to the literature surrounding individualism-collectivism, the impacts of religiosity, and extends understanding into an affective context.
