The professional work environment, she said, has also become more complex ,with rapid technological change and a changing workforce composition. “Employees need to adapt to the use of new tools, new processes, and more of them must work across functions, cultures, and geographies,” she said.
While the demand for soft skills has increased, on the supply side (or skill acquisition side) of the equation, a more systematic approach to their development is just beginning, according to Zaslavski.
“Soft skills have just started to show in continuous education syllabuses in the last few years. On the corporate side, it is important to note that most organizations have the soft skills they need within their talent pool,” she said. “What is missing is the alignment and matching of soft skills to roles, thus creating gaps in performance.”
Ironically, many people have great soft skills but are not encouraged or incentivized to deploy them, Zaslavski said. “So, we end up with a paradoxical situation where employers complain about lacking soft skills they inadvertently ignore or neglect. Then they go to buy them from the outside."
The role of job tenure — and satisfaction
According to Gartner, Gen Z is more likely than other generations to prioritize career growth and a more interesting career path. That leads younger tech workers to spend less time at any one company before seeking career growth at another.
A Policy Research Working Paper from the World Bank showed a worker born in 1980 has, on average, 3.6 years' shorter tenure than a worker born in the 1940s. In other words, younger workers change jobs more often.
In fact, a survey of 11,000 employees from eight countries by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) revealed that in a labor market where there is still record low unemployment, 28% of workers — whether actively or passively looking for a new job — do not see themselves with their current employer within a year.
Gen Z places a higher emphasis on their experience in a role than other generations, according to Gartner. In a poll of 2,626 Gen Zers who recently accepted a job, 65% said the experience they have at work is just as important to their job satisfaction as compensation and benefits; 57% of millennials, 56% of Gen. X, and 53% of baby Boomers felt that way.
So, if employers hope to retain new workers, it’s more critical than ever to understand what really matters to them. When it came to determining why an employee would stay in a job, according to BSG, pay mattered less than emotional factors such as job security, being treated fairly and respected, enjoying work, feeling valued and appreciated, and feeling supported.
“If companies want to keep their employees, they need to meet these emotional needs,” BSG said.