Report on the State of Play: Status of Distance Interaction Soft Skills Within the Baltic Sea Region, Current State, and Emerging Needs 2020–2021
Hautamäki, Johanna; Niemi, Sari; Vihalemm, Triin; Kovacevic, Emina; Sørås, Per Erik; Guldseth, Eistein; Podlaski, Krzysztof (2025)
Centria University of Applied Sciences
2025
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2025051341224
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2025051341224
Tiivistelmä
As a background, the idea for this project was formed during two Finnish EU projects in which the aim was to create participatory learning and developing methods in Small and medium-sized enterprises, SMEs. During these projects, Finnish partners gained insights into the lack of focus on interaction skills, as we here call distance interaction soft skills (DIS), in SMEs, laying the groundwork for this Distance LAB pre-study. After that, the COVID-19 pandemic brought a considerable leap in remote work. Results in this report indicate that there is still a lack of focus on interaction skills in working life remote operations. COVID-19 has not removed the need to develop remote interaction soft skills, but the crisis has even highlighted how essential these skills are.
The COVID-19 pandemic will have a long-lasting major effect on socioeconomic conditions and health for people globally as well as economically. Within EU member countries, there is a wide scale of effects of the pandemic and levels of recovery. Therefore, it is to be seen that divergences will grow between countries. (Ahrendt, Cabrita, Clerici, Hurley, Leončikas, Mascherini, Riso & Sandor. 2020.)
The data in this report has been collected with multiple sources during 2020-2021. Methods have been interviewing SME’s and other organisations within the partner regions in different countries, reviewing existing reports and projects, collecting general information on the partner regions sourcing social media and reviewing existing technology in use.
The purpose of this state-of-play research was to lay ground for a larger international project on distance interaction. Review the current situation and give an outlook for the future. What kind of new skills and knowledge are needed in the rapidly changing working life for interaction with distance, and how it should be developed.
The COVID-19 pandemic will have a long-lasting major effect on socioeconomic conditions and health for people globally as well as economically. Within EU member countries, there is a wide scale of effects of the pandemic and levels of recovery. Therefore, it is to be seen that divergences will grow between countries. (Ahrendt, Cabrita, Clerici, Hurley, Leončikas, Mascherini, Riso & Sandor. 2020.)
The data in this report has been collected with multiple sources during 2020-2021. Methods have been interviewing SME’s and other organisations within the partner regions in different countries, reviewing existing reports and projects, collecting general information on the partner regions sourcing social media and reviewing existing technology in use.
The purpose of this state-of-play research was to lay ground for a larger international project on distance interaction. Review the current situation and give an outlook for the future. What kind of new skills and knowledge are needed in the rapidly changing working life for interaction with distance, and how it should be developed.