New Delhi, Jan 22 : The pandemic year 2020 is past us but not the coronavirus and the impact it brought into our lives is probably the biggest disruption of our lifetimes. The impact at our workplaces was such that WFH format and other factors led to 50 per cent workforce choosing for Self-Development programs on digital platforms. This and more was revealed in a nationwide survey conducted by myjen.ai, a fast growing Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered communication platform. With the growing realty of hybrid workplaces emerging as the new normal, the survey "Pivoting to the New Normal" was undertaken to comprehend the impact of pandemic on Learning and Development of professionals, their preferences and opinion. Key findings of myJen AI survey "Pivoting to the New Normal" 1. Self-Development programs received tremendous uptake (50 per cent Workforce) When it came to percentage of people using pandemic time for self-development, a 35 per cent of respondents felt that more than 50% used this time for Self- Development, on the same aspect around 45 per cent people felt that around 40 per cent people used this time for Self-development, leading to a majority (around 80 per cent) having voiced that more than 40 per cent of work force used pandemic time for Self-Development. 2. Main Subjects Attraction for Self-Learning About choosing the subject for Self-Learning, the main attraction for working population were led by Technical skills followed by Strategic Thinking & Innovation Skills, Social Media Marketing, Communications Skills and finally Leadership Skills in this order. In terms of specific skills, the importance of Communications Skills received a whopping 96 per cent acceptance, to its being very important for career growth. 3. A Thumbs up for Digital Platforms As direct face-to-face communications with their peers and leaders got restricted due to the pandemic, it was the digital platforms and telecom services which ran the show virtually for organisations. A majority of professions voiced that more than 50 per cent people believe that Digital Platforms can be beneficial for self-development. 4. Digital Platforms- Advantages and Challenges Talking about advantages and challenges of Digital platforms, respondents mentioned Scale, Cost, Convenience, Self-paced and 24X7 availability as the top advantages, whereas issues like Lack of interactivity, Procrastination, Discipline, Lack of Personalisation and inability to gauge learners feelings and emotions were the top challenges with the Digital platforms. 5. A Surprise- A good idea to have 24X7 Communications Coach In a world, where work hours and pressure is on a high and people prefers to have their own personal time, in a surprise more than 56% respondents felt that it can be a good idea to have a 24X7 Communications Coach at their disposal, clearly indicating the growing role of Communications in our professional and personal lives. The survey was conducted across different cities in India and was responded to by around 350 participants. The participants included Learning & Development Heads, People Managers and other function leaders of organizations from across 30 different industries including Education, Technology, Infrastructure, Banking, Consulting and Financial to name a few. The survey had equal representation from junior, middle and senior management. Announcing the launch of survey findings, Shammi Pant, Co-Founder, myJen.ai said: "Our Survey "Pivoting to the New Normal" is an attempt to capture metamorphosis taken place in Learning & Development space due to the unprecedented pandemic. These disruptions fast forwarded the evolution of alternatives like a location no longer being a constraint to get the access to the best training and coaching, as long as you have a good internet connection, a laptop or smart phone. The uptake of digital platforms and growing role of technology is having a profound impact on workplaces, cultures and mind. This became an epiphany in our survey findings as well and we believe the changes like hybrid and blended learning are going to be permanent in our lives." myjen AI powered coaching products use NLP, sentiment analysis and data learning, to give the user personalized and contextual feedback. KWurd is an Email writing AI Coach Application, with useful features, an Intuitive Interface and powerful design, whereas uSpeek helps in improving spoken word from body language, word power, to voice it gives a holistic analysis, in a matter of minutes. These products mines data to show inherent de-railing patterns across teams, functions and geographies, providing invaluable insights for individuals and organisations ultimately delivering business performance Jenny Sarang, Co-Founder, myJen.ai, said: "Pandemic has brought L&D & HR back on center stage. These functions have an extremely critical role to play in helping organisations transition into the new normal and our survey brings out these aspects clearly. There is greater realization among professionals to sharpen their domain, technical skills and most especially Communications skills. Various Studies suggests that almost 80% of your success at work places is driven by our communication skills" /IANS