Since the early 1990s, workplace related emotional intelligence (EI) has pervaded the Western academic literature and popular press (Salovey and Mayer, 1989–90). But EI still lacks empirical support which is surprising given that people in Eastern contexts have practised controlling their emotions for centuries. There is a great deal to learn from the Eastern world in relation to ‘controlling’ emotions as a mechanism of optimising organisational productivity. An assessment of the EI literature yields two propositions. First, team members with high EI increase team productivity. Second, EI and job performance are positively related. Productive team work and associated performance are perceived as a function of emotional rather than intellectual intelligence. EI is a necessary, but not adequate, precondition for improved job performance. Long-established Eastern practices of meditation and mindfulness and the more recent advancements in neurobiological research are discussed to explore potential links between EI and organisational effectiveness.