Personality Traits and Positive Resources of Workers for Sustainable Development: Is Emotional Intelligence a Mediator for Optimism and Hope?

The 21st century is characterized by unpredictable and changing environments that require individuals and organizations to adapt to these challenges and prepare for continuous transitions in the work environment. Optimism and hope are positive resources that are key factors in navigating this post-modern work scenario. Emotional intelligence can be considered as another important variable in this context and furthermore, research has shown it can be increased through specific training. The aim of the present study is to examine the contribution of emotional intelligence in mediating the relationship between personality traits and both optimism and hope. The Big Five Questionnaire (BFQ), the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue-SF), the Life Orientation Test Revised (LOT-R), and the Hope Scale (HS) were administered to 201 Italian workers. Correlations among variables were calculated and mediation analyses were performed. The results showed that the relationships between personality traits and both optimism and hope are mediated by emotional intelligence. In particular, the contribution of emotional stability, agreeableness, and extraversion on optimism was mediated by emotional intelligence; the contribution of extraversion, emotional stability, and conscientiousness on hope was mediated by emotional intelligence. These results open new possibilities for research and interventions to enhance the personal resources of workers in the fluid scenario of the 21st century by promoting optimism and hope that are facilitated by emotional intelligence in the perspective of enhancing psychological aspects of sustainability and sustainable development.