But unless emotional abilities and cognitive abilities are negatively correlated, it's not as though selecting for cognitive abilities would make you any more or less likely to have a coworker that demands extra emotional work. It just means you won't be extra-lucky in finding coworkers of high emotional ability.
Personally, I think that focusing on work performance is a refreshing wind against so much folk wisdom hiring.
I'm also not at all surprised that someone was unable to unseat intelligence as a predictor of work performance. That predictor has been solidly established as powerful across a general array of work (better than past relevant work experience!), and scientists are ever on the hunt for a better employment sieve.
Personally, I think that focusing on work performance is a refreshing wind against so much folk wisdom hiring.
I'm also not at all surprised that someone was unable to unseat intelligence as a predictor of work performance. That predictor has been solidly established as powerful across a general array of work (better than past relevant work experience!), and scientists are ever on the hunt for a better employment sieve.