Abstract:
Self-regard, emotional self-awareness, flexibility, problem solving, and stress
tolerance, inter alia, constitute attributes that affect how well activities are carried out
by individuals. Thus, construction activities that are people intensive require a measure
of emotional quotient (EQ) to enhance project performance, especially with regard to
health and safety (H&S). EQ is important due to: intrapersonal EQ; relationship with
one self; interpersonal EQ; stress management; adaptability, and general mood of
employees. The aforesaid in due course impact on performance related to the project
parameters in the sector, inter alia, cost, H&S, time, quality, and productivity. The
purpose of the paper is to present the findings of an exploratory study that was
conducted to determine the perceived importance of EQ in terms of managing
construction H&S and the extent to which EQ contributes to optimising H&S
performance on projects in South Africa. This is aimed at contributing to the
enhancement of H&S performance in construction.
