EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE OF MANAGERS AND EMPLOYEES’ CAREER DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL: DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS

This study examines the extent to which managers’ emotional intelligence, operationalized through empathic behavioural patterns, differentiates employees with respect to their career development potential. Data were collected through two online questionnaires administered to managers (n = 97) and employees (n = 480) from 37 organizations in Croatia, with hierarchically linked samples (employees evaluated their immediate supervisors). Managers’ emotional intelligence was measured through four empathic constructs, while employees’ career development potential was assessed using five constructs: career decision determination, career planning capability, motivation for career realization, career-related beliefs, and career-related competencies and professional values. Linear discriminant analysis was applied to 24 employee subgroups. The results indicate that the set of career development variables clearly differentiates the groups: in the group with non-empathetic managers, three subgroups were reclassified into the group with emotionally intelligent managers, while no reclassifications occurred in the opposite direction. The findings confirm the importance of managers’ emotional intelligence in shaping employees’ developmental resources.