These Work Skills Are Most Important During Pandemic and After

 

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

The coronavirus pandemic shows no signs of slowing down in many places around the world. So, many people who usually work in offices continue to work from home.

For some of them, working remotely may be something that will continue even after the pandemic ends. But working from home often requires different skills and ways of managing our work. So, it is important to learn ways to help us work productively¹ in a remote environment.

VOA Learning English recently spoke² with Natasha Olinger a human resources expert.

For 15 years, Olinger has managed human resources for several organizations in Washington, D.C. Olinger shares skills she says are most important during the pandemic -- and possibly after.

Technical (or hard) skills

Working from home means you need good technical skills, Olinger notes. Without an IT department close by, employees need to know how to fix video, phone, or computer issues that come up. In other words, we need to be tech-savvy.

"You might have to be more technologically-savvy now than you really have ever had to be, possibly because, you know, you worked in an office with an IT person, or whatever it is. Not only is that important right now but that's going to be important post-pandemic."

Technical skills are also called hard skills. However, to Olinger, they are not the most important skills to have when working remotely. She says soft skills are more important.

"The other thing that I think is really important in the pandemic and is going to be important post-pandemic -- really soft skills. And I think that doesn't necessarily get talked about a lot."

What are soft skills?

Soft skills, experts explain, are not about the knowledge you have. Instead, they control how you act in different situations – both on your own and with others. When dealing³ with other people, soft skills are sometimes called interpersonal skills.

Communicating clearly, working well with others, and supporting your co-workers are examples of other soft skills.

Experts at the employment company Indeed talked with 1,000 hiring managers. When asked to name the most important soft skills of their top-performing employees, the managers listed these five soft skills:

Problem-solving

Effective communication skills

Self-direction (being able to work effectively on your own)

Drive (a strong, natural to do well)

Adaptability⁴ & Flexibility⁵ (the ability to work well in changing situations)

What is your EQ?

Soft skills are part of a person's EQ, or "emotional quotient." While IQ is a measure of a person's "intelligence quotient," EQ is a measure of a person's emotional intelligence.

Soft skills, Olinger explains, are harder to learn than technical skills. Also, there are not as many resources teaching soft skills.

"They call that ability to read people EQ or it's emotional intelligence -- instead of IQ. But they...they certainly study it. But yeah, there's not this plethora⁶ of online classes available to teach people this kinds of thing."

Even an expert such as Olinger ran into trouble. In the early days of the pandemic, she held many meetings with groups of people over the phone. This is when Olinger noticed one of her soft skills was weak. She was unsure if she was communicating clearly.

Without seeing the people and their visual cues⁸ -- a nod of the head to show they understand or a look of confusion⁹ on their face -- she could not tell if her meetings were effective. So, she decided¹⁰ to work on her own soft skills.

"It's not only crucial to build those soft skills because I don't have that in-person connection anymore. But it's also more important than ever because people need those soft skills right now."

Olinger says that during the pandemic, managers have been able to see how employees with strong soft skills help the organization. She calls soft skills the "glue that holds everything together." That means they are what keep the people in the workplace connected and able to work together.

"Soft skills are the glue that holds organizations together through times of crisis¹¹, like this, but also beyond. And so I really think that soft skill sets are really important now and I think that they are only going to grow in importance post pandemic."

Words in This Story

remote – adj. being, relating to, or involving a means of doing or using something indirectly¹² or from a distance : such as using or involving a network connection between computers or systems in different locations

manage – v. to have control of (something, such as a business, department, sports team, etc.) : to take care of and make decisions about (someone's time, money, etc.)

IT – n. abbreviation¹³ for Information Technology

tech-savvy – n. practical know-how¹⁴ : example : tech-savvy to have strong technical skills

drive – n. a strong, natural desire to do well

adaptability – n. able to change or be changed in order to fit or work better in some situation or for some purpose : able to adapt or be adapted

flexibility – n. easily changed : able to change or to do different things : willing to change or to try different things

plethora – n. formal : a very large amount or number : an amount that is much greater than what is necessary

visual cue⁷ – n. something you can see that serves as a signal or suggestion

crucial – adj. extremely important

1 productively   

ad.多产地

参考例句：

• Asia should use all saving more efficiently and more productively. 亚洲人在使用任何储蓄时应该更富有成效。
• HIV replication kills productively infected CD4+ T lymphocytes and innocent bystander cells. 复制的HIV病毒杀死了被感染的CD+T淋巴细胞及相应的组织。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

4 adaptability   

n.适应性

参考例句：

• It has a wide range of adaptability.它的应用性广。

5 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

6 plethora   

n.过量，过剩

参考例句：

• Java comes with a plethora of ready-made types.Java配套提供了数量众多的现成类型。
• A plethora of new operators will be allowed to enter the market.大批新的运营商将获准进入该市场。

7 cue   

n.暗示，信号，提示；vt.提示，暗示

参考例句：

• When she coughs,it's my cue to come onto the stage.她一咳嗽，就是给我暗号出场。
• The actor missed his cue and came onto the stage late.这演员错过了向他发出的提示，上场晚了。

8 cues   

n.尾白( cue的名词复数 )；提示；暗示；（台球等的）球杆v.向…发出指示信号( cue的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Without him they forgot their cues and garbled their lines. 一旦没有了他，她们就忘掉了她们的结尾语，或者弄错了台词。 来自辞典例句
• She does not tiptoe through life taking cues from others. 她从来不依葫芦画瓢小心翼翼地生活。 来自互联网

9 confusion   

n.困惑，迷乱，混淆，混乱，骚乱

参考例句：

• His answers to my questions have only added to my confusion.他对我的问题的回答只是使我更加困惑不解。
• His unexpected arrival threw us into total confusion.他的突然来访使我们完全不知所措。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

12 indirectly   

adv.间接地，不直接了当地

参考例句：

• I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
• They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

13 abbreviation   

n.（用词首字母组成的）缩写

参考例句：

• A.D.is the abbreviation for"advertisement".A.D.是advertisement的缩写。
• The postal abbreviation for Kansas is KS.堪萨斯州的邮政缩写是KS。

14 know-how   

n.知识；技术；诀窍

参考例句：

• He hasn't got the know-how to run a farm.他没有经营农场的专业知识。
• I don't have much know-how about engines.发动机方面的技术知识我知之甚少。