According to recent research by Harvard professor of economics David Deming, jobs requiring high levels of social skills grew by 12 percent between 1980 and 2012. Surprisingly, the so-called STEM jobs (more math dependent but less social skills) actually shrank by 3.3 percent during this same period. (Source: “The Growing Importance of Social Skills in the Labor Market,” by David J. Deming, Harvard University, May 24, 2017)… More research is coming on how these social skills actually bring measurable economic benefits; for example, what can more deliberate collaboration on the job do to improve performance and output? Or how might the skills of empathy or deeper inter-personal communication benefit employee retention and performance?