Employee Engagement and Soft Skills in the Digitalization of the Economy. Preliminary Study Results

The fast-paced digitalization and automation make hard skills acquired by employees in their academic study programs outdated and irrelevant very fast. Hence, researchers and practitioners have recently demonstrated a growing interest in studying soft skills in various settings, including leadership, education, and training. Additionally, in times of digital transformation, businesses are promoting employee engagement evermore, particularly in the present context of crises and instability. The research intends to investigate this issue from the viewpoint of employee soft skills. We specifically look into the link between employees’ soft skills and workplace engagement. While doing our research in two different countries, we distinguish between commercial and non-commercial organizations as well as add an international perspective. Based on an acknowledged European skills framework, we focus our study on such soft skills as teamwork, communication, and conflict management and use recognized surveys to quantify them. We use a well-known Gallup methodology to evaluate employee engagement. Using correlation analysis, we investigate the impact of the three selected skills on employee engagement while considering the organization type and country, factors that may play an important role in the digital transformation of businesses and companies.