Soft Skills' Importance Over Hard Skills: An Analysis

This essay argues that soft skills are more important than hard skills in the workplace. It defines soft skills as essential interpersonal skills and hard skills as technical abilities. The essay uses business aspects to support its argument, highlighting the value of communication, empathy, and collaborati...Read More

Running head: SOFT SKILLS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN HARD SKILLS 1
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Soft skills are more important than hard skills in the workplace
Word count: 794 (excluding title page, introduction and references)
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SOFT SKILLS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN HARD SKILLS 2
Soft skills are more important than hard skills in the workplace
In job descriptions, employers require applicants and their employees depend mainly on
two kinds of skills in order to succeed in the labor market. These are hard skills and soft skills.
Soft skills are interpersonal skills that are essential to your career and as you search for jobs.
While hard skills are qualified skills that are necessary to successfully perform technical tasks in
a job, soft skills are necessary to create a positive and functional work environment. The
importance of hard skills and soft skills has always been an ongoing debate which implies a
rivalry between the two. This essay will argue that soft skills are more important than hard skills
through the lens of business aspects in the workplace.
Many positions value soft skills than technical skills as having a qualification does not
guarantee that a person has the competencies to succeed in the workplace. Soft skills such as
communication, interpersonal, empathy, and collaboration are valued in the workplace as they
increase productivity and ensure a healthy work environment (Dean, & East, 2019). Hard skills
are not useful without soft skills as one develops hard skills from their effectiveness of soft
skills. For example, people with communication, creative and problem-solving skills can use
those soft skills in a certain job to learn how to work or to develop solutions. However, Dean, &
East, (2019) show that there are some jobs that require hard skills over soft skills if the employer
needs only the employees who are capable of performing a certain task. For example, if the
employer needs a person with data analysis skills who can analyze data through database
management, data mining, data engineering, data presentation and use the information to benefit
the company. However, there is a need to have soft skills such as work ethic, flexibility,
teamwork or interpersonal skills as the employee will not always work alone (Dean, & East,

SOFT SKILLS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN HARD SKILLS 3
2019). For example, during staff meetings where you have to present your specific task, you will
require soft skills.
Changing organizational aspects and new technology have made the workplace rely on
soft skills more than hard skills due to artificial intelligence and automation. Cutting edge
technology has made soft skills the differentiators of the performance of employees making the
need for hard skills decline Meeks, 2017). For instance, employers prefer employees who have
adaptability or flexibility skills or innovative skills as new jobs are less repetitive. They need
employees who can adjust to the changing technology and use it to innovate new ways of doing
things better to increase productivity while reducing cost. However, with the rapid
transformation of new technology, hard skills may be demanded to perform technically
(Enterprise, 2016). People with hard skills will require less time to apply the new technology in
their positions as they have the required competencies to perform their responsibilities in their
specific jobs hence the new technology will make their work easier. However, the new
technology will create new roles as a result of the transformation, so employers will use their soft
skills to identify opportunities in the market (Enterprise, 2016). They need teamwork and
leadership skills to identify market gaps created by the new technology. For instance, there are
employers who do not possess the different hard skills their new employees possess and rely on
their soft skills to lead them.
Soft skills are hard to acquire or learn from others but hard skills can be easily learned,
taught or perfected when someone has soft skills. Robles, (2012) argues that most of the
employers working in the business sector usually train their employees when they employ them
to develop hard skills. They cannot train them to acquire soft skills as they are linked with
personal character and have little to do with knowledge. Soft skills set someone apart from other

SOFT SKILLS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN HARD SKILLS 4
candidates with similar hard skills and expertise. According to Dixon, Belnap, Albrecht, & Lee,
(2010), someone can use their hard skills to develop their soft skills that are required in the
workplace. For example, a salesperson can develop listening, interpersonal and empathy skills
from their interaction with their customers during their professional performance. A manager
supervising the employees can use their expertise to communicate, solve problems and
collaborate with them well. However, some people’s personality traits, emotional intelligence,
social intelligence or career attributes cannot allow them to develop soft skills that help them
perform well or work well with others to achieve organizational goals (Schulze, 2018). Therefore
employers will prefer working with employers with soft skills as they can help them develop
their hard skills.
The essay argues and agrees that soft skills are more important than hard skills, hence
people with excellent soft skills have a chance of getting a job than those with hard skills only.
Many positions value soft skills than hard skills to improve the company’s performance through
collaboration, creativeness, and teamwork. The new technology and the changing organizational
aspects have created artificial intelligence and increased automation of jobs hence many
workplaces rely on soft skills. It is hard to acquire or learn soft skills which are very essential in
the workplace hence employers prefer those with soft skills as they can train them to develop the
required hard skills. Soft skills are critical to the success of a person in the workplace and
individuals need them to be retained and succeed in their jobs. People need to develop their soft
skills so that they are equipped to enter the workforce.

SOFT SKILLS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN HARD SKILLS 5
References
Dean, S., & East, J. (2019). Soft Skills Needed for the 21st-Century Workforce. International
Journal of Applied Management and Technology, 18(1), 17–32.
https://doi.org/10.5590/IJAMT.2019.18.1.02
Dixon, J., Belnap, C., Albrecht, C., & Lee, K (2010). “The importance of soft skills.” Corporate
finance review, 14(6), 35.
Enterprise, T., E., (2016). SOFT vs HARD SKILLS WHY SUCCESSFUL AUSTRALIAN
BUSINESSES NEED BOTH. https://www.tafensw.edu.au/documents/60140/86282/Soft-
Skills-vs-Hard-Skills- Whitepaper.pdf
Meeks, G. (2017). ScholarWorks Critical Soft Skills to Achieve Success in the Workplace.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5180&context=dissertation
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Robles, M. M. (2012). Executive perceptions of the top 10 soft skills needed in today’s
workplace. Business communication quarterly, 75(4), 453-465.
Schulze, B. (2018). The importance of soft skills: Education beyond academic knowledge.