Research shows that practicing soft skills at work is as necessary as hard technical skills to ... [+]
Many of us have been taught that soft skills like kindness, compassion and empathy are hokey, cheesy or irrelevant. Some people even say warm and fuzzy emotions are hippie nonsense or a new age fad with no impact on performance serving no real purpose in the workplace. Many leaders still adhere to the myth that soft skills short-circuit engagement and motivation and create a team of smiling slackers. Today, more company leaders are starting to think beyond the iron-fisted management styles from the Dark Ages that bludgeoned employees with pressures and criticisms. They are starting to see that the ticket to performance, productivity and profit is the delivery of value through “human capabilities” or soft skills to build the organization and its bottom line.
According to Deloitte Insights, 92% of companies surveyed reported that human capabilities or soft skills matter as much or more than hard skills in today’s business world. The modern workplace is under increasing pressure to stay relevant and that includes extending beyond just hard or technical skills. According to LinkedIn's Global Talent Trends report, 89% of recruiters say when a hire doesn’t work out, it usually comes down to a lack of soft skills. Deloitte predicts that soft-skill intensive occupations will account for two-thirds of all jobs by 2030 and grow at 2.5 times the rate of jobs in other occupations.
The Science-Backed Basis For 3 Soft Skills
The science shows that three soft skills: kindfulness, compassion and empathy are the most effective tools to recruit and retain young talent, especially with the reinvention of the post-pandemic workplace. So, if you’re still not sold on the idea that soft skills are powerful motivators, consider the scientific basis for kindfulness. A body of research shows that kind acts reduce work stress and job-related illnesses. When you reach out to help a coworker, the obvious benefit is that you temporarily forget about your own stressful burdens. But that’s just for starters. Consider the scientific fact that people who practice kindfulness have more vitality, better health and longer lives than those who do not. Commonly known as the helper’s high, performing kind deeds boosts your mood and reduces stress-related illnesses. Medical studies show that the saliva of compassionate people contains more immunoglobulin A—an antibody that fights off infection. In addition to boosting the immune system, brain scans of kind people show that generosity gives them a calmer disposition, less stress, better emotional health and higher self-worth.
Scientists are discovering that if you don’t like yourself, you won’t be motivated to accomplish as much as possible. Studies show that self-judgment, self-criticism and self-loathing build barriers to job engagement, motivation and career advancement. After a setback on the job, negative self-talk adds insult to injury and reduces your chances of rebounding and succeeding. They contribute to performance anxiety, undermine your ability to do your best and cause you to procrastinate. If you’re unkind to yourself, you might even be more inclined toward career self-sabotage. Only as you cultivate the right attitude toward yourself will you have the right attitude to build your career.
Another recent study found that people who practice self-compassion have lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The scientists found that those who scored higher on self-compassion had thinner carotid artery walls and less plaque buildup than those with lower self-compassion. These indicators have been linked to lower risk of heart attacks and strokes—years later. "These findings underscore the importance of practicing kindness and compassion, particularly towards yourself," said Dr. Rebecca Thurston, professor of psychiatry and psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. "We are all living through extraordinarily stressful times, and our research suggests that self-compassion is essential for both our mental and physical health."
So if being kind to yourself is powerful enough to mitigate heart disease, stroke, stress and anxiety, irritability and depression, plus boost job engagement and performance, it only follows that business leaders would want to create a compassionate workplace to foster these mental and physical health advantages. After all, studies have shown that the American workforce has been calling for empathy and caring from higher-ups and corporate honchos. Sadly, that message hasn’t thoroughly filtered up the chain, partly contributing to “The Great Resignation.”
What Company Leaders And Experts Are Saying
Experts like Dr. Kristin Neff, author of Fierce Self-Compassion: How Women Can Harness Kindness To Speak Up Claim Their Power And Thrive, argue that soft skills like self-compassion are tools for career success and failure. Neff describes the two sides of self-compassion—the fierce and the tender—and how essential both are to function optimally in our careers. “It helps us gain success, and it helps us deal with failure, which helps us succeed. The way you grow and learn is by dealing productively with failure. If you go into shame mode after failure, it disallows you to look at and learn from your failures. It’s not going to allow you to grow or take risks. You can be vulnerable, learn and grow if you have your own back with self-compassion: ‘If I blow it and people ridicule me, I’ll be okay because the bottom line is I’ll be there for myself.’”
According to Lauren Fitzpatrick Shanks, founder & CEO of KeepWOL, “Companies will need to further develop the soft skills of their existing employees if they plan to redeploy positions that will inevitably disappear.” But she admits that soft skills are some of the most complex to obtain and master, mainly because they aren't prioritized in many technical professions. “They are typically categorized into the area of personal development versus professional development,” she said. “It's not until someone decides to take the "manager track" in their career path that some of the most technical employees realize they may want or need to hone in on their soft skills.” Shanks explains that you cannot learn or refine soft skills such as compassion, empathy, listening and collaboration by reading a book or watching a one-off training video. “Acquiring soft skills requires perpetual practice so one can exercise those muscles continuously and become more proficient.”
KeepWOL offers live and virtual interactive games for teams to help bridge the gap between learning and doing. And that gap includes understanding, practice, and improvement of soft skills, specifically interpersonal skills. Games, gamification, and simulations inspire fun, creative opportunities to learn, practice and retain new information. “The reality is that we all began our educational journey learning through play,” Shank concluded, “and as we're seeing first-hand from our user metrics, professionals not only benefit greatly from embracing this approach, but moreover they're truly enjoying the growth process."
