Topic > Soft Skills and Today's Workforce

IndexIntroductionLiterature ReviewConclusionReferencesIntroductionSoft skills refer to personality traits, personal attributes, communication skills, non-cognitive skills, and necessary social cues needed to succeed at work, relate to other people, and orient oneself 'environment. Basically this assignment is aimed at writing an essay that identifies and reflects on some of the soft skills that are missing in today's workforce. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayLiterature ReviewAfter doing research and critical analysis, most people in today's workforce lack the right communication and problem-solving skills. Communication is crucial in the workplace as it serves as a source of information for making decisions, aids in the socialization process, and alters individuals' attitudes. Basically, some of the main reasons behind the lack of adequate communication in the workforce are lack of use of suitable or appropriate language, poor listening skills, language barrier and ethnicity in case of international companies and organizations (Andreas, 2018). When it comes to problem solving skills, many graduates and employed people do not have the required skills because they have no experience. Most of them are recent graduates who have not undergone any real training. Third, today's workforce also lacks people who lack the spirit of working together. Most employees like to work on a personal level instead of joining forces (Bremner, 2018). This has caused a lot of chaos as an organization cannot achieve its goals and objectives if its members do not work in unison. It should be noted that the lack of teamwork is dangerous as it can lead to a slowdown in the growth rate or even closure of a company. Next in order, today's workforce lacks ownership and leadership. Above all, the above values ​​are vital as every operational organization requires good leadership to develop and mature to higher levels. According to a recently concluded survey and analysis, it has been established that most businesses fail due to poor leadership qualities which ultimately affect how operations are run. Most employers are usually eager to hire employees who can act as team players (Bremner, 2018). In layman's parlance, this refers to someone who is cooperative but shows strong leadership skills when needed: a large number of people in the workforce do not have this quality. Lack of creativity and flexibility is another set of missing soft skills. The essence of an employee's creativity in the workplace is to come up with better ideas and skills to achieve the set goals and objectives. Creativity is also important as it allows an employee to be innovative, which alternatively increases their efficiency. Regarding today's workforce, it is clear that there is a lack of creativity which can quickly be reflected in low levels of innovation and efficiency (Prihatiningsih, 2018). When it comes to flexibility, employers have been forced to put up with a very rigid team of employees. In practice this means that newly hired or existing employees have difficulty adapting to different situations, policies or requirements. Another soft skill lacking is the inability to accept and implement feedback.Basically, every organization has its own operating policies and it is every employee's job to comply with them. During the training process, future employees are usually informed about what their characters are; they are also corrected when they make mistakes. However, it should be noted that today's generational workforce is made up of people who do not take instructions, feedback, and corrections seriously (McGunagle & Zizka, 2018). Mostly an organization is likely to thrive and perform better if coordinated by employees who accept feedback gracefully as this results in more professional growth, for example most successful companies like Amazon and Apple. Inc. and Facebook are managed by a team of employees who fully comply with company policy and regulations. Today's workforce also lacks people who are resourceful and confident in their work (Bremner, 2018). In case unexpected problems arise, there is a dire need to take unique measures. Such actions can only be initiated by a team of enterprising employees or those with additional skills. As of today, the workforce lacks these types of people as most of them work in a field that they have trained for years and years in school or polytechnics. Being resourceful is also vital as it allows you to solve tasks using much simpler procedures. As for trust, very few employees in the workplace today have confidence in their work. The majority lack confidence because they don't have the right skills and knowledge to support self-esteem. In essence, trust is essential as it allows an employee to convince their customers or supervisors to believe what they are saying. As much as today's workforce can generally be described as punctual, there is a percentage of employees who are consistently late for work or meetings. Arriving late is unacceptable in any workplace (Bremner, 2018). It should also be noted that today's generation consists of employees who lack the social skills that are very important in determining the success of any workplace and how employees relate to each other despite different personalities. Every employer wants to recruit and hire employees who are capable of dealing with other people regardless of their position, rank or stature. In summary, the lack of social skills is the substantial reason why most employees lack the spirit of working together. Moving on to the next point, there is a lack of friendly personalities in the workforce. Unlike the past, the world has changed. People have become self-centered, rude, and less helpful (Bremner, 2018). Fundamentally, today's workforce is made up of employees who want to work with people they like or can easily identify with. They also want to work with people who can cover for them in case they don't follow established workplace policies. In general, employees are supposed to have a friendly personality that allows them to interact with virtually anyone in the workplace. Furthermore, they also lack specific research skills and general emotional intelligence. As much as Google has all the answers, there are jobs or searches that require additional information and details that cannot be found on the Internet. In this case, very few people are able to do research without using the Internet and search engines (Andreas, 2018). When it comes to emotional intelligence, very few people in the workplace are able to adequately manage their emotions and take into account what others are feeling while carrying out their tasks. As much as this soft skill is not.