Soft skills and burnout: The still underestimated link

In 2022, Marin-Zapata and colleagues conducted a systematic review to better define what soft skills actually entail. Their proposal? To group them into two main categories: 
 

• Intrapersonal skills: including emotional regulation, personal organization, motivation, perseverance… everything related to self-management. 

• Interpersonal skills: relating to interaction with others—communication, conflict resolution, empathy, collaboration… 
   

Soft skills thus complement hard skills, which are technical and specific to a job or area of expertise. 
 
“The myth that only technical skills matter in the workplace is outdated. Today, it’s the balance between the two that predicts performance,” says our psychologist. 

An employee may be technically brilliant, but if they struggle with stress management or teamwork, their overall performance will suffer. Conversely, someone with strong emotional intelligence can defuse tensions, foster team cohesion, and indirectly enhance productivity. 
 
“I like to say that interpersonal and intrapersonal skills are like muscles. You can train them, develop them, strengthen them… provided you’re aware of them,” notes our psychologist. 

The link between soft skills and performance takes on new importance when considering mental health at work. Burnout, mental overload, loss of meaning… These modern workplace issues often stem from poor mastery of certain intrapersonal skills (stress management, assertiveness, ability to say no, personal organization). 
 
“Burnout isn’t just about too much work. It’s also about lacking internal resources to handle it. And those resources are often soft skills,” says Stéphanie Delroisse. 
 
Building resilience means strengthening emotional, relational, and organizational skills. It’s about knowing oneself well enough to recognize limits, express needs, collaborate healthily, and bounce back from challenges. 

Good news: soft skills are not fixed! Companies can implement several strategies to develop them: 

• Training in nonviolent communication, stress management, emotional intelligence 

• Individual or group coaching 

• Mentoring or co-development 

• Structured and constructive feedback 

• Collective regulation rituals (emotional check-ins, listening spaces, etc.) 

“Developing soft skills isn't just about top-down training. You need to create a trust-based ecosystem where employees feel free to explore their limits and strengths,” insists our psychologist. 

One promising tool is virtual reality. It allows employees to live immersive experiences that simulate complex situations: conflict resolution, difficult conversations, public speaking… 
 
“What’s amazing with VR is the power of immersion. The brain reacts as if it’s a real interaction, which boosts memory and emotional engagement,” says our psychologist. 
 
By repeating these scenarios safely, anxiety in certain situations decreases, and adaptability increases. A great opportunity to prevent psychosocial risks and build team resilience. 

Melimpus develops innovative tools to support employee growth. In particular, Melimpus offers VR tools to help employees and managers train in building soft skills like those described in this article. Better management of these skills leads to more supportive teams and helps prevent burnout or chronic stress. 
 
In Conclusion 
 
Soft skills aren’t just a “nice to have”—they’re essential for sustainable performance, mental health, and workplace resilience. 
Recognizing, developing, and valuing them not only improves employees' daily lives but also helps prevent serious risks like burnout. 
 
Isn’t it time to give them the place they deserve?