Eight in 10 professionals want employers to upskill them for hybrid work: Survey

The pandemic has completely changed the future of work, making it clear that hybrid workplaces are here to stay. To be effective and productive contributors in the hybrid workplaces of the future, professionals will need to evolve an essential set of cognitive, social and behavioral skills to navigate ever-new challenges, finds the Hybrid Readiness Survey by behavioural skilling company Harappa.

The survey was conducted among 300 professionals to gain insight into the most crucial “thrive skills” (i.e, cognitive, social and behavioral skills) that professionals must be equipped with in order to advance in their careers.

Respondents across career stages — from CXOs to team members — agree that skillful teamwork is their number one priority followed by taking ownership and learning agility. Fostering trust, collaborative orientation and productive delegation are the top skills that respondents seek in their leaders.

“The sudden switch in workplaces was confusing to navigate, but now that we have had the time to settle in, there is a need for working professionals to re-calibrate skill sets to make the most out of this new way of working. At Harappa, the mission of helping professionals thrive across career cusps and dynamic workplaces, remains core to our operations. The insights of this survey have helped us decode the direction in which we must lead this recalibration,” said Shreyasi Singh, co-founder and CEO, Harappa.

The participants in the survey were a diverse set of professionals at different stages of their career journey, spanning industries like pharmaceutical, IT, automobile, finance, education, etc. 41% of the respondents were working fully remote, 37% were working in a hybrid setting, and only 22% reported to be fully back in office.

The company has recently launched its tailored upskilling programme for hybrid workplaces with two self-paced courses: ‘Leading Others’ and ‘Managing the Hybrid Workplace’. The programme strives to help organisations prepare their leadership for the hybrid workforce and drive stronger business outcomes with remote teams.