The six vital job skills of the future – and the big blocker to achieving them today

According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs report, six skills will dominate job advertisements in the coming years.

What two things do these skills all have in common?

One, for forward-thinking companies, they are not the skills of tomorrow, they are in fact the skills of right now.

Two, they are all knowledge-based skills, that take a lot of mental heavy lifting.

Therefore, getting your house in order about mental health is going to be vital for productivity in the near future.

Philippines companies are starting to face up to the importance of mental wellbeing. 

The first few words of the World Health Organisation’s definition of mental health is “the science and art of promoting and protecting mental capital.”

It goes on to describe mental health as “emotional wellbeing, preventing mental illness, and prolonging life and the quality of life through society's organized efforts.”

But the fact that they lead on protecting mental capital is telling.

For the longest time, mental health has been a taboo subject in the Philippines, but finally, companies are coming round to the idea of the importance of having a mental health strategy.

Nowadays, workplaces can’t afford to make mental health an afterthought. Companies who underestimate its importance—especially in the context of remote work—will suffer from unmotivated and unproductive employees.

What can you do? Talk about it!

It is important to have regular open conversations about mental health with your employees and highlight what support is available.

It can be hard for someone to open up about their mental health but when employers talk openly about wellbeing, employees are more confident to join the conversation. Openly talking about mental health helps remove some of the stigma and it will make it easier for people to reach out for support.

If you’d like to do more for your employees, providing services they can access in times of need, like counselling, employee assistance programs and health insurance that covers mental health, speak to the employee benefits and wellbeing team at Howden.