What is EQ?

I just received the question...so I will refer to a post that I wrote on the topic a couple of years ago.

Here it is!

Emotional intelligence: A fundamental part of the grand human machine that, mysteriously, many people seem to lack. And yet they continue to function. Also called E.Q. for emotional intelligence quotient, not E.I., which would make a lot more sense. I have many stories about people who demonstrate a perplexing absence of E.Q., and especially in the workplace. I know a woman who would send e-mails to people who were nearly killing themselves on a project and the opening line would invariably be: "What the fuck are you doing?"(Always effective in motivating people). I know another woman who, if she is working on her computer and I walk in, does not even turn around or look up. She will have whole conversations without looking away from her screen. Head-scratchers, no?

To people like this I want to say: Did you skip kindergarten or are you just an asshole? Those of us who are not assholes and did not skip kindergarten know that we need to treat our fellow human beings with respect, kindness, and decency. One does not need to have heightened E.Q. to know this. I like to think that people who are missing E.Q. will eventually break down. How can they continue to function while missing such a major part? Until then, they should all go and sit in a corner and have a giant time-out.