Supporting Employees and Maximizing Profit: The Case for Workforce Development Focused on Self-Regulation
Evidence | Publications

Supporting Employees and Maximizing Profit: The Case for Workforce Development Focused on Self-Regulation

OPRE Report #2019-41
Published: Feb 28, 2019
Publisher: Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Human Services Family Support TANF and Employment Issues
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Authors

Jacqueline F. Kauff

Key Findings
  • Soft skills most often considered very or extremely important to success in the workplace and that correspond to self-regulation skills include: time management, problem-solving, interpersonal skills, flexibility, work ethic, organizational skills, composure, confidence, perseverance, the ability to focus attention, the ability to delay gratification and control impulses, and emotional intelligence.
  • TANF programs are beginning to look to the research on self-regulation to identify strategies they can implement to strengthen participants’ skills with an eye toward improving participants’ employment outcomes and proactively responding to the needs of the business community.
  • Employers can provide training opportunities and mentoring to develop employees’ self-regulation skills.
  • The investment employers make in their employees can have profitable returns.

Human service agencies and employers have a common interest in developing a qualified and productive workforce. This brief presents evidence for developing the self-regulation skills of low-wage labor market participants in order to improve their outcomes and employers’ profitability.

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