When it comes to soft skills, autistic people can find it challenging to grasp them. These skills are often unwritten and necessary in the workforce. Soft skills are a persons pattern of thoughts, feelings, behaviors, social attitudes, situational awareness and emotional intelligence. They are the hardest to master. The complexities of being autistic make it even more challenging.

Nonetheless, they are the way that interpersonal relationships are managed, appropriate decision making and effective communication is completed. They are important because they make good first impressions and bring the opportunity for career progression and promotion.

It takes being disciplined and motivated. You must be capable of resolving conflicts and build relationships. You should also motivate and encourage others. If needed, you supervise and direct employees. Most employees are part of a team, department, or division. Thus, you must be capable of working as a team member. No matter your role in the workforce, collaboration is necessary.

Communication is an important part of working. It takes verbal communication if you can communicate. A necessary skill is to speak clearly and concisely. While not easily understood, communication is also understanding body language and facial expressions. It is also important to have good skills when communicating via email, text and compiling reports. Also essential is relaying information via pictures and other visual aids. Overall, it takes actually listening and hearing what others have to say.

The ability to problem solve is a important skill. It takes discussing mistakes and learning from them. It involves using your knowledge to solve problems. Sometimes it takes being creative, identifying options, choices and alternatives. Most of all it takes making a decision and being decisive. Having a work ethic is also essential. This takes arriving to work on time and going whenever you can. Meeting deadlines is essential. You must also be responsible and self-motivated. One big thing is that you need to do the job you are paid to do. Be thorough and finish what you started.

As hard as it can be, we must often be willing to be flexible. We should adapt to situations as they arise. This takes shifting gears and changing direction as we need to. Sometimes it takes handling different tasks outside of your area of skill. It takes displaying a willingness to learning new things while keeping an open mind. Being willing to embrace change is a necessary skill. This is true even though it is difficult for me. It is important for growing personally and professionally.

Lastly, it takes having interpersonal skills to thrive in today’s workforce. This can be known as “people skills.” Building relationships is crucial. You need to have the ability to give and get constructive feedback. It is also important to be tolerant and respectful of others’ opinions, even if they differ from yours. As hard as it can do in traditional ways, it is also essential to show empathy towards others.

In summary, soft skills are one of the main ways employers decide who to hire. If you are lacking in certain skills, you can practice to improve your soft skills. Soft skills and good customer service go hand in hand. Soft skills in the workplace always matter.

This article was sourced from a presentation that I attended in 2021.