The relationship between emotional blackmail and emotional intelligence with job satisfaction of emergency department nurses working in hospitals affiliated with Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran

Background Different aspects of the healthcare workers' emotional responses during the provision of nursing services such as emotional intelligence and emotional blackmail might have an impact on the quality of care, patient safety, and patient satisfaction. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between emotional blackmail and emotional intelligence and job satisfaction of nurses. Methods This cross-sectional study included the data for 261 nurses employed in the emergency department of teaching hospitals affiliated with Alborz University of Medical Sciences in 2024. The data collection instruments consisted of a demographic information questionnaire, Liu and Zhuang's (2016) emotional blackmail questionnaire, Love et al .'s (2004) emotional intelligence questionnaire, and the Michigan Organizational Assessment Questionnaire, which focuses on job satisfaction. Both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were utilized for data analysis. The Kruskal-Wallis test and the Mann-Whitney U test were implemented to compare scores among various sociodemographic groups. Results Participants with 10 years or less of job experience showed a statistically significant greater median emotional blackmail score when compared to nurses with more than 10 years of professional experience (P value = 0.035). Participants over 40 years had the highest emotional intelligence score of 62, while those aged 30–40 scored 60.5, and under 30 scored 58 (p-value < 0.001). Nurses with over 10 years of experience attained a median emotional intelligence score of 62, exceeding the median score of participants with 10 years or less of experience (p-value = 0.058). Participants over 40 and those aged 30–40 had higher job satisfaction scores (median score of 9) than those under 30 (median score of 8) (p-value = 0.056). We found a low positive correlation between emotional blackmail and emotional intelligence, and a medium positive correlation between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction. Conclusions Considering the elevated levels of emotional blackmail experienced by nurses in emergency departments, particularly among those with fewer than 10 years of experience, and its notable correlation with emotional intelligence, it is advisable for nursing managers and policymakers to mitigate the negative impacts of emotional blackmail. This can be achieved by developing educational interventions and executing effective in-service communication strategies.