Restricting the Attrition with Emotional Intelligence in Defence Services (With Reference to Indian Air Force)

Abstract

Lesser number of promotion opportunities in the higher echelons of hierarchy often leads to discontentment which often paves way for premature retirement of the officer. Camaraderie starts missing among officers as well as Personel Below Officers Bank (PBOR)s Emotional intelligence of higher authorities with appropriate soft skills becomes pertinent at this crucial juncture as lack of it leads to negated energy. The research paper measures emotional intelligence in air force officers and focuses on its importance. The sample size included 200 personnel [150 officers +50 airmen] of different ranks. The methodology used was interview, observation and questionnaire adapted from Hendrie Weisinger 'Emotional Intelligence at Work' (San Francisco; jossey-bass, 1998) pp 214-215. Out of 300 questionnaires distributed 200 were returned duly filled between the month from October to December 2015. Data was analyzed using ANNOVA and F test. The results were quite shocking as the graph portrayed a clear picture of rising EI in officers with promotions but downturn with those who missed it. The research paper analyses causes for u turn of EI even after serving for 20 year in service and proposes recommendations based on analysis of primary and secondary data.