Service Canada, the federal agency overseeing Employment Insurance, announced it will hire consultants to provide training for employees on managing emotions and developing empathy. Blacklock's Reporter says the initiative, however, was launched without disclosing a specific budget.According to a notice to contractors, the training will cover essential topics such as managing personal emotions, demonstrating positive behavior, recognizing triggers and stress factors, and developing empathy and listening skills. Employees will undergo a total of seven hours of training, which will emphasize "self-management and awareness of our emotions and those of our peers," as outlined in the notice titled Emotional Intelligence And Difficult Conversations Training Courses For Service Canada.The training aims to foster healthier collaboration and communication within the agency. “The first training course will promote health collaboration and communication based on the concepts of self-management and awareness of our emotions and those of our peers,” the notice stated.The Canadian School of Public Service previously allocated $25,000 annually for Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQi) assessments of federal employees. "EQi assessments are widely used as part of the School’s leadership development," a spokesperson said in an earlier interview.EQi tests assess employees' emotional responses to various statements, such as "I spend hours wondering what people meant by offhand remarks," "I find myself feeling nervous about situations or events and I don’t even know why," "I am not satisfied with my work unless someone praises it," and "I have certain compulsive habits that I just can’t seem to stop."The concept of "emotional intelligence" gained popularity following Daniel Goleman’s 1995 bestseller, which argued that "soft skills" like empathy and courtesy are as important as IQ. "The tool is widely used," noted the School of Public Service.According to the notice, the emotional intelligence assessments will evaluate various components of emotional and social skills, including self-perception, self-expression, interpersonal skills, stress management, and other social skills.EQi testing has been praised as a method for identifying ineffective management. A 2004 essay by Western University’s Ivey Business Journal, The Tyranny of Toxic Managers, highlighted the importance of such testing, noting, "Toxic managers can be divided into four categories: narcissistic, aggressive, rigid, and impaired. Underneath these difficult behaviors are either difficult personality traits, mood disorders, or impulsivity."However, critics argue that EQi testing remains subjective. A 2010 report by the University of Nebraska, Emotional Intelligence And Transformational And Transactional Leadership, stated, "There has been no shortage of studies investigating the relationship between emotional intelligence and positive outcomes. There remains no single universally accepted measure of emotional intelligence."
