In times of rapid transformations and uncertainty for industry to be competitive, technical capabilities are not sufficient for efficient productive capabilities. The world of labour is moving towards more resilient practices, the necessary skills are changing and in the relevant research, psychosocial skills (effective team management, communication skills and emotional intelligence) emerge as important parameters. Employers are looking for people who possess not only technical skills, but also personal skills (soft skills), such as human resource management and team leadership, communication skills and critical thinking. The above skills bring significant gains in production, however, they remain difficult to find, which creates the need for human resources training, through relevant programs, such as the RISKREAL project.
According to the #CtheFuture 3.0 survey, there is an increase in the importance that future leaders place on soft skills for their professional development. In particular, 82% of the respondents stated that they consider soft skills more important than hard skills. In another survey (CareerBuilder, 2014), skills such as a positive attitude towards work, reliability and trust from employees rank first in employers’ choices for hiring and retaining jobs. In business, coordination and harmony between the employer and the employees are essential elements to achieve the necessary level of quality. In most competitive job markets, recruitment criteria do not stop at technical skills and specialist knowledge. Employers value soft skills because they enable people to function and thrive in teams and organizations. Thus, psychosocial skills are the difference between the adequate candidate and the ideal candidate, as a productive and healthy work environment depends on them.
Specifically, 77% of employers consider the so-called “soft skills” to be just as important as the so-called hard skills . Furthermore, in a very important survey carried out in eight European countries (France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom), by McKinsey (McKinsey & amp; Company, 2014) one third of employers stated that the lack of soft skills causes major business problems in the form of cost, quality, or time. Consequently, several employers reported that they are looking for people with hard-to-find soft skills.
However, this optimism is tempered by shortages of skilled workers, with nearly 7 in 10 (69%) employers globally reporting difficulty filling positions. For example, in 2011, more than 600,000 jobs in the manufacturing sector were left vacant due to a lack of skills such as consistency and professionalism (Deloitte, 2011). In Greece, the percentage reaches 80%, corresponding to a 12-year record for the country, since the beginning of the survey in 2008. Several factors contribute to strengthening the phenomenon of the lack of soft skills, including health and safety concerns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the challenges workers face around childcare and their need for work life balance, but the most important factor of all is the struggle to find staff with the right mix of technical and personal skills. All of these make upskilling and reskilling imperative for success in today’s environment.
As pointed out in the survey, this increase in the search for soft skills confirms the trend of the post-COVID era, which wants the leader of a company to have high emotional intelligence, great flexibility and adaptability, as well as a personality to find creative and practical solutions to a company’s problems. Greek employers revealed the top 5 hard-to-find personal skills:
1. Leadership & Social Influence (58%)
2. Taking Initiatives (51%)
3. Creativity & Authenticity (49%)
4. Critical Thinking & Analysis (48%)
After all, studies have shown that psychosocial skills are essential in the knowledge society we live in and provide significant benefits to industries and businesses, such as more flexibility in the workforce, and faster adaptability to the constant changes of an increasingly interconnected world. They are an important factor in innovation, productivity and competitiveness, and contribute to the motivation and satisfaction of employees, as well as to the quality of work. They are also related to the likelihood of job retention, increased employability, improved job performance, and career success. Furthermore, unlike other predictors of career success, such as mental ability and conscientiousness, social skills can be more easily developed and cultivated.
As evidenced from the findings of Adecco Group’s #CtheFuture 3.0 survey, in which 1,685 people from more than 50 countries took part, ensuring mental health remains a top priority for the new generation of workers, at the same time that the importance of soft skills is constantly increasing, while work experience is expected to play a more important role in the development of employees than university education”. The cultivation of psychosocial skills will be the answer to the manifestation of physical, biological and psychosocial risks, in terms of safety and health at work, to which the significant changes carried out in the labor sector in recent decades have led.
These changes make it imperative to take appropriate measures to address the factors that contribute to the development of psychosocial risks at the organizational level, such as problematic planning, organization and management of work, as well as an unhealthy social context. The above constitute an unhealthy condition and are dangerous to an employee’s health, and may lead to negative psychological, physical and social outcomes, such as work stress, work burnout or depression. In addition, they bring about negative consequences such as poor overall business performance, increased absenteeism, truancy (instances of employees showing up to work while ill and unable to function effectively), increased accident and injury rates, and increased rates of early retirement. The costs to business and society are estimated to be significant and amount to billions of euros nationally.
Psychosocial risks and work stress are therefore among the biggest challenges in the field of occupational safety and health. They significantly affect the health of individuals, businesses and national economies. However, when psychosocial risks and stress are treated as an organizational issue rather than a personal weakness, they can be just as manageable as any other workplace safety and health risk. With the right approach, prevention and successful management of psychosocial risks and occupational stress can be achieved, regardless of the size or type of business.
The RISKREAL project responds to the contemporary needs to cultivate psychosocial skills in the field of work, with the application of appropriate educational tools, as the development of human resources in them is an added value for an organization, and is a source of competitive advantage and a central component for the success of an organisation.
Written by: Angelos Schoinas
from PROTASI ZOIS
