Homeworkers lack soft skills, recruiting giant warns

Christophe Catoire, global president of Adecco, said a lack of soft skills development «can seriously undermine a candidate's potential»

The world faces » «soft skills crisis» as working from home leaves millions of workers struggling to interact with colleagues, said the head of one of the world's largest staffing companies.

Christophe Catoire, global president of the company According to Adecco, quarantine and the rise of home working have led to millions of people experiencing difficulties with empathy and creativity.

Mr Catoire said: “Social skills are more important than ever. Empathy, the ability to create warm relationships, trust, creativity — these things will be used by companies more than ever before.

“One damage from Covid — and this is something very serious that we don’t talk about enough is that you are damaging people's human skills. Young people joining the company need mentoring. And if you don't have that appetite for people and don't create opportunities to learn from each other, you can seriously undermine a candidate's potential.»

He said the effects of the lockdown continue. , in the form of permanent work from home, was creating a “soft skills crisis.”

His comments come as city officials have stepped up a crackdown on office truants unwilling to return to pre-pandemic work habits.< /p>

Magic Circle law firm Clifford Chance has announced plans to monitor office attendance by staff in a bid to curb work-from-home refusers who don't want to come.

The London law firm said tracking individuals will help managers «better understand and support their team's compliance» with minimum office requirements.

The law firm requires UK staff to work in the office at least 50% of the time over a two-week period , which is equivalent to five days in a two-week period.

Employees who don't show up enough will be reminded that it's their job. a job that helps shape the company's culture as well as day-to-day transactional work.

Rival law firm Slaughter & May, who is an adviser to the Bank of England, told staff earlier this month that they would be monitored as they entered and left offices.

Employees will be “asked to comply” if they do not return to their jobs at least three days a week.

Meanwhile, Bank of America recently sent “training letters” to employees working from home, threatening disciplinary action if they do not meet minimum job requirements.

Martin Ferland, chief executive of Mercer, the world's largest consulting firm HR firm said there were growing generational divides in the workplace.

Ms Ferland said Gen Z workers had a harder time paying attention than baby boomers because they grew up using social media, such as TikTok and Instagram.

p>

Ms Ferland said: “In my experience, when Gen Z spends time on something, they are dedicated to it and want to succeed. I think what they have less than us is attention span.

“It's because of information overload [and] fear of missing out, which means that when you're reading something and suddenly your phone rings, you immediately think: oh, I need to do something else.

p>

«I know I sound like a dinosaur and a fortune teller, and I don't want to generalize, but there's definitely a risk that people won't pay enough attention.»