Date of Award

Spring 2020

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

School

Interdisciplinary Studies and Professional Development

Committee Chair

Dr. Heather Annulis

Committee Chair School

Interdisciplinary Studies and Professional Development

Committee Member 2

Dr. Qunicy Brown

Committee Member 2 School

Interdisciplinary Studies and Professional Development

Committee Member 3

Dr. Dale Lunsford

Committee Member 3 School

Interdisciplinary Studies and Professional Development

Committee Member 4

Dr. John Kmeic

Committee Member 4 School

Interdisciplinary Studies and Professional Development

Abstract

Working while enrolled in college has become routine for the Millennial college student (Riggert, Boyle, Petrosko, Ash, & Rude-Parkins, 2006). Approximately 14 million students in the United States work and attend college simultaneously (Carnevale, Smith, Melton, & Price, 2015). Millennials graduate and infiltrate the workforce, now composing half of the U. S. labor market (Calk & Patrick, 2017). Yet, a mismatch between employer and new graduate’s competencies occurs in the workplace. While Millennials view themselves as workforce ready, employers see them as unprepared and lacking the necessary skills for success in the workplace (Jaschik, 2015). Many Millennial college graduates do not possess the soft skills needed to be successful in the workforce (MacDermott & Ortiz, 2017). Employers seek soft skills, communication, teamwork, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence in Millennial graduates (Schneider, 2015). Soft skills connect to the emotional intelligence of individuals, impacting their workforce readiness (Ritter, Small, Mortimer & Doll, 2018).

This study utilized experimental research and employed a Solomon four-group design. The study used two instruments in pretest and posttest analysis to determine the influence of emotional intelligence training on college student employees. Five research objectives grounded the research. Although the findings from this study do not support previous research regarding emotional intelligence training, stress management sub-scores indicate an area for further analysis. Additional research on college student employees across multiple higher education institutions has the opportunity to create further implications.

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