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According to psychologist Dr. Travis Bradberry, Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the “something” in each of us that is a bit intangible. It affects how we manage behavior, navigate social complexities, and make personal decisions that achieve positive results. Emotional intelligence is your ability to recognize and understand emotions in yourself and others, and your ability to use this awareness to manage your behavior and relationships.

Developing your EQ has an impact on the way your brain functions—which influences both your personal and professional life. Companies that retain emotionally intelligent employees are likely to reap the benefits of their high EQ. Communication, teambuilding, and time management are directly influenced by EQ and are also correlated to an individual’s ability to work well—even under immense external pressures.

As skills such as emotional intelligence and creativity are deemed increasingly more valuable, the benefits of their influence are more notably recognized. Creativity and emotional intelligence help propel employees through challenges and onto greater projects. Emotional intelligence equips employees to not just reduce their stress, but reduce their perception of stressful situations.

By perceiving situations as stressful, an individual may face more feelings of resistance, fear, or worry. Thus, stress can debilitate employees to the point where it affects the quality and timeliness of their work. When situations are perceived to be less stressful, feelings of confidence, eagerness, and competency are often emoted. By possessing the emotional intelligence to perceive difficult situations as less stressful, the situations become more manageable. The same situation may be handled in different ways by different people. For one person, a situation may prove to be manageable while the situation proves to be debilitating for the other. The difference in this situation is emotional intelligence.

Placing an emphasis on raising EQ helps employees learn how to effectively manage their emotions, which ultimately helps them perform better.

The bottom line is this: Emotional Intelligence affects the bottom line.