Many of us have heard or seen how automation and technology have been slowly seeping into the business world. Whether it is to take over existing jobs or create new ones, technological advancements and automation have had a significant impact on the way we work. However, despite all the changes these advancements are continuously introducing into the workplace, there are still some job skills that cannot be automated.
To help you foster these skills and actively work towards mastering them, we are here to highlight 8 job skills that won’t be automated:
1. Empathy
One of the under-spoken about skills in the workplace is empathy. Empathy is one of the most important skills to cultivate and foster a healthy and forward-thinking work environment. In fact, empathy is at the core of a leader, and it revolves around people. And this is where automation does not stand a chance. A skill that comes from humans and is about humans cannot be replaced by automation. Robots and machines can carry out simple human tasks, but they cannot understand and connect with people on an emotional level.
2. Communication and social skills
Just like empathy, communication skills are all about human interactions. Each scenario entails a different set of communication skills that automated machines will not be able to keep up with as effectively as humans do. After all, humans are social creatures, and socializing and communicating with one another is second nature to us. While technology is coming closer and closer to facial recognition, communication is an art that requires the human touch to be mastered.
3. Creativity
While some might argue that we have reached a time where computers and machines are able to create art and music, it is also instrumental to go to the root of what creativity really is. At the heart of creativity are awareness and emotions, both of which stem from humans. In order for machines to be able to be fully creative, then they will need to develop a sense of awareness and ability to appreciate art.
4. Judgment
Do you think robots and machines have a moral compass? Or are they able to tell right from wrong? In short, the answer is that machines will still require some degree of human intervention when it comes to decision making. Automation will not be able to take on the roles of judges or lawyers because machines do not have an innate sense of what is right or wrong. Having the ability to judge in an unbiased manner is still a far-fetching concept that cannot be automated any time soon. In fact, some even worry about the fact that automation and technology can have their own set of biases.
5. Content creation
We all want to read engaging content that captures our attention, and while automation can create content, it cannot create a fully captivating one without human context. The digital world is being driven by content creators that know how to story-tell and understand human interaction, something that machines lack.
6. Leadership
Being a leader is not an easy job, so how do you expect to teach a machine to be one when few really know what a leader is? Adopting the needed skills to become a real leader requires a high level of self-awareness, empathy and drive to take risks and reach a goal. And while automation cannot tap into the emotional side of leadership and the innate human skills that breeds it, it can potentially help employers sharpen them.
7. Strategic thinking
Every business and process needs a well thought strategy to succeed, and machines and computers do not have the capacity to take the grand scheme of things into account and create a strategy for it. Strategic thinking is a skill that will always be performed by humans due to our ability to look at the bigger picture and consider many different aspects.
8. Tech management
It sounds ironic I know, but let us be real, a robot cannot manage another robot. Human intelligence is what introduced automation and technology into our world, and we will still need it to manage these advancements. Employees will always be needed to design and create new digital and automated systems, and therefore this is a skill that will stay in high-demand.
