When the algorithm is powerless: what soft skills artificial intelligence cannot replace in hybrid work

Artificial intelligence can already write texts, calculate budgets, and make decisions faster than humans. But it still can't trust, feel tension in a team, or inspire others to follow an idea. Paradoxically, the smarter technology becomes, the more valuable a worker's humanity becomes.Together with Soft Skills Coach Kateryna Lastenko LIGA.net explains what skills will become your protection and capital in the age of AI.What soft skills will remain the most important in the age of AI?"There is a popular belief that artificial intelligence will displace people from the labor market and replace teams and businesses. This is an illusion, because people work with people and for people," says the expert.AI will increasingly take over the rational part of business: algorithmic tasks, typical processes, everything that can be standardized. And the more we automate what doesn't require creative thinking, the more resources – attention and energy – will become available for truly human things. That's why soft skills won't lose their significance; on the contrary, they will become even more important.Kathryn Lastenko names the three most important ones.Emotional intelligenceArtificial intelligence is not capable of truly understanding a person, reading their emotional state, and helping them work with it. It can provide support on a superficial level, but a deep understanding of oneself and others is only possible between people. Investors look not only at the idea but also at the connection within the team – and here, AI can neither replace nor enhance the human factor.Contextual ThinkingThis is the ability to read "between the lines" and understand the context in which communication or work takes place. The same words can have different meanings depending on the situation. This is what corporate culture is based on: it can be described in a conditional instruction, but it is formed only through shared experience, emotions, challenges, and situations lived together.The ability to influence through communication.This is about leadership and charisma – the ability to convey the meaning and energy of your words. Even a perfect text doesn't work on its own: it needs to be lived and delivered in such a way that people want to listen, believe, and follow you. This skill cannot be delegated to artificial intelligence – it always remains human.How hybrid work has changed the requirements for communication and interaction between peopleHybrid work has changed the form of interaction, but we want to maintain the same quality as before, says Katrin Lastenko:"We've given people—and ourselves—more freedom to choose where, in what space, to work. At the same time, we expect them to remain engaged, invest in their work, and understand each other, even when they're in different places and not seeing each other in person."For this system to truly work, we need to consciously raise the level of online communication – the level that we have partially lost when we stopped being physically together. In the office, we automatically read many things: the manager's mood, the atmosphere in the team, tension or, conversely, drive. In a hybrid format, this is partially lost.Therefore, the first thing that becomes critically important is: quality of emotional contact, explains the expert:– We need to maintain a sense of connection: that we're in this together, that everyone is important, and that there's a friendly atmosphere within the team. People don't just come to work to "do something for money"—and if that level of contact disappears, engagement drops.The second key point is: quality of information deliveryWhat used to be conveyed through intonation, facial expressions, and mood now needs to be put into words. In texts, emails, chats, and online meetings. Thoughts must be clear, unambiguous, without passive aggression or cold phrasing. Online communication has its own symbolism – and it's important to learn how to work with it so that we are understood correctly without visual contact.And the third is: the ability to give and check feedbackIn a hybrid format, people often don't understand if they are moving in the right direction. Therefore, there is a growing need for regular, clear, and constructive feedback, especially from managers who today fulfill their role primarily through communication rather than physical presence.What new soft skills have emerged due to the hybrid work format?Globally, 83% of employees give away The hybrid format is preferred, and the share of hybrid vacancies increased by 24% by 2025.Only 19% They are working. exclusively in the office, 26% are fully remote, and 55% are already in a hybrid mode. This means that over 80% of people today do not work in the traditional office setting.Such changes inevitably created a demand for new soft skills. There are many studies, particularly at Deloitte, that They say that in the future, companies will first evaluate soft skills, and only then hard skills.Three key skills that, according to the expert, have become particularly important in hybrid work.Digital PresenceWhen you can't physically be in the office, "wear the right suit," or draw attention to yourself through personal presence, you need to learn how to manifest yourself online.It's important not just to do a good job, but to be visible and to remind people of yourself in an appropriate way.Context switchingThis is the ability to change the communication style depending on the channel: chat, email, online meeting, video call. What is normal in a corporate chat may be inappropriate in a letter or on a call.Asynchronous communicationWorking online means that answers don't always come immediately. People work on different schedules and in different time zones. Therefore, it's important to be able to formulate requests clearly, keep open questions under control, not to pressure and at the same time not to drag out processes.How to develop skills that AI cannot replaceIn hybrid work, we increasingly retreat into our own "bubbles": less face-to-face communication, fewer chance encounters, and fewer diverse moods and perspectives, explains the soft skills expert:– Therefore, my first and very simple piece of advice is: consciously step out of this "bubble".Explore people and environments: go to new places, talk to people outside your professional field, take up new hobbies, attend lectures, and just walk around in areas where you don't usually go. This directly trains empathy and curiosity about life.The second tip is: Develop critical thinking.This is especially true for new generations who have lived in the digital space since childhood. Social media and artificial intelligence algorithms know us very well: if I like something and I "like" it, the system throws even more content at me that confirms my existing opinion.As a result, a person becomes an "expert" in a very narrow niche and sees the world only from their "tower." Everything else simply does not exist for them. Therefore, consciously expand the boundaries of your perceptionIf something triggers you, go there.And Creativity It starts with fearlessness. Truly new ideas are not born from combining the familiar, but from insights. For this, it is important not to be afraid to make mistakes, to look strange, not to be like the trends, to allow yourself to experiment.And one more thing: creativity works not only through the head but also through the body. New movements and physical experiences create new neural connections. If you always train the same way, try something fundamentally different. The body is surprised, and at that moment, it is easier for the brain to generate new ideas.How managers can assess and support the development of soft skills in employeesThe best way to foster the development of soft skills within a team is to: the leader's own example"This is the most powerful thing a leader can do. If a leader wants to receive quality feedback from subordinates, they must be able to give that feedback themselves: friendly, specific, timely, concise, and regular," says Katrin Lastenko.– In general, soft skills are considered difficult to measure. But in business, we never develop them "just for the sake of it." We do it to achieve specific goals. The point is not to learn how to say "thank you" or make beautiful presentations, but to ultimately increase sales, improve the team's microclimate, and increase work efficiency.Yes, we can directly observe certain manifestations: how a person reacts to messages, whether they respond to tasks, whether they explain their decisions, and whether their engagement is visible. But we cannot "calculate" the level of soft skills in numbers.Instead, we look at indirect indicators: how many customers came, how the average check changed, whether customers return, and how the team works in general. That is, we assess what exactly a particular soft skill that we developed influenced.It is impossible to learn communication without communication.– Calls like "let's be friendlier" don't work in a work environment. It's important for people to understand why they need these skills: how they affect safety, productivity, profit, money, and their own comfort. You need to show each employee how their personal soft skills affect the well-being of the entire system – and what they get in return."That's when soft skills development really starts to work," concludes Katrin Lastenko.Read alsoFrom AI to EQ: 5 skill development trends that leaders can't do without tomorrow