Cultivating Empathy for a Better Nation: Bridging the Soft Skills Gap in Sri Lanka
View(s):“There is zero correlation between IQ and emotional empathy… They’re controlled by different parts of the brain-Daniel Goleman”
Scenario One (My Personal Experience – Leading Insurance Company in
Sri Lanka): A customer walks into the office, but none of the salespeople pay any attention. They are focused on their own tasks, leaving the customer to wander around the office, unsure of what to do.
Scenario Two (Shared by My MBA Student – Leading Vehicle Importer in
Sri Lanka): Salespeople tend to judge customers based on their appearance, such as their dress code. When a customer inquires about a high-end branded vehicle, they receive little to no proper explanation, as the salespeople are often influenced by preconceived notions.
An interesting observation from both scenarios is that most of the salespeople are qualified with at least a Diploma in Marketing or Sales Management. Notably, they all belong to Generation Y and Z, being born after 1977.
Nalin’s Insights: Bridging Marketing and Economic Trends
What is the problem?
There could be many reasons with many social interpretations for this. However, we should understand the beauty of multiple realities for managerial implications.
How do we, as Sri Lankans, perceive soft skills?
In Sri Lanka, many people frequently discuss the importance of soft skills. A section of society often criticizes the output of national universities, claiming that most graduates lack “soft skills.” However, this same group tends to define soft skills narrowly as “language competency and IT skills.” The issue lies in the lack of focus on the “big picture.
How does the world perceive soft skills (the big picture)?
According to Oxford reference “soft skills are competencies that employees possess associated with activities such as customer handling, communication, problem-solving, and teamworking. According to various surveys, these soft skills are considered by employers to be of very high importance and (in the UK) sadly lacking amongst new recruits”. This highlights the difference between how we, as Sri Lankans, perceive soft skills and how the rest of the world views them. It underscores the need for a proper platform to discuss these differences within our education system and professional forums.
Generation Y,Z and Emotional Intelligence
According to Yesnick (2016) The Pew Research Center conducted a survey of 1,021 respondents whereby 42 percent responded that by 2020 Gen Y and Gen Z will “…spend most of their energy sharing social messages, being entertained and distracted away from deep engagement with people and knowledge. They’ll lack deep thinking capabilities and face-to-face social skills.” (Business Insider).
It’s evident that Gen Y and Gen Z are heavily focused on social media and entertainment, resulting in reduced deep thinking and face-to-face social skills. This is the most crucial aspect that we need to address.
Mastering the Art of Paying Attention: The Key to Success
This is a critical issue. As Sherry Turkle, author of Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age, argues, there has been a 40 percent decline in empathy among people in their 20s. Stanley (2017) echoes similar concerns in his remarks, highlighting the impact of digital communication on interpersonal skills.
“…..It’s ironic because our incessant need to connect with everything and everyone also makes us lose our ability to connect with the most important thing — people. Colleagues go out to lunch to build relationships, which requires paying attention. But once seated, individuals set their phones on the table. The message is clear and the rules are established. Relationship building and paying attention to each other will happen until one of us gets a phone call or text. How many of you are tired of competing for attention with a smartphone? (And why is it called a smartphone when it creates such stupid behaviors?). Our constant need to connect digitally weakens real-life connections. People prioritise phones over face-to-face interactions, undermining relationships. This is a critical issue to address.
What do we need to do?
Emotional intelligence paired with common sense is essential in all aspects of life. However, there is a challenge with the younger generation—they tend to be more demanding yet less inclined to engage in self-reflection.Anyway Yesnick(2016) proposed Employer to identify a mentor for a new Gen Y or Z employee during onboarding. Programmes embodying the four components of emotional intelligence give the mentor opportunities to model self-awareness, social awareness, self-management and relationship management.
Mediation and Empathy
According to a 2013 report by Huffpost.com, research published in Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience found that a meditation programme called Cognitively-Based Compassion Training improved people’s ability to read emotional expressions on others’ faces. While based on ancient Buddhist practices, this secular programme primarily focused on mindfulness and training individuals to reflect on their relationships with others.
Back to Scenarios one and two
Referring back to scenarios one and two, it’s essential to stay informed about global trends and see the “Big Picture.” Simply training people as part of a company agenda or just to show that the budget has been utilised is not a solution. For true nation-building and sustainable economic growth, every citizen and organisation must have plans rooted in empathy. In short, both employees and organisations need empathy—empathy for people and empathy for the nation.
As the Buddha said, “In whom there is no sympathy for living beings, know him as an outcast.”
Professor Nalin Abeysekera
(The writer is a Professor in Management Studies ,Open University of
Sri Lanka and You can reach Professor Abeysekera via nalinabeysekera@gmail.com.)
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