Introduction: In the era of digital transformation and escalating competition, organizations have come to recognize that their long-term success depends not solely on employees’ technical competencies, but also—crucially—on the development of soft skills such as effective communication, problem-solving, teamwork, critical thinking, and emotional regulation. These competencies play a pivotal role in enhancing both individual and collective performance. Consequently, the cultivation of soft skills has become an indispensable component of organizational training and professional development programs. Despite substantial investments in this area, many organizations—including Jam Petrochemical Company—continue to face significant challenges in facilitating the effective transfer of soft skills acquired during training programs to the actual workplace context.
    This study aims to identify and analyze the phenomenon of ineffective transfer of soft skills from organizational training to real-world work environments, through a phenomenological lens. Drawing on the lived experiences of senior and expert employees at Jam Petrochemical Company, the research seeks to uncover and interpret the underlying barriers to this transfer process at individual, instructional, and organizational levels. The significance of this study lies in its movement beyond abstract theoretical models, engaging instead with the operational and human realities of a large-scale industrial organization. By doing so, it endeavors to provide a practical foundation for the redesign of more effective and contextually grounded training curricula.
Methodology: This study adopted a qualitative approach, specifically employing an interpretive phenomenological methodology. This method was selected due to its capacity to explore and interpret the underlying meanings embedded in participants’ lived experiences, making it an appropriate framework for the in-depth investigation of the research problem. The study population consisted of senior, expert, and experienced employees at Jam Petrochemical Company. Participants were selected purposively, based on specific criteria including a minimum of five years of professional experience, prior participation in soft skills training programs, and the ability to articulate and reflect upon their lived experiences. A total of twelve participants were selected, each of whom engaged in an in-depth, semi-structured interview. The interviews ranged from 45 to 60 minutes in length, were audio-recorded with informed consent, and subsequently transcribed verbatim.
    Data were analyzed using a thematic network analysis approach, guided by Colaizzi’s seven-step framework. In the initial stage, the researchers engaged in repeated readings of the transcripts to gain a deeper understanding of the content. Conceptual codes were then extracted and systematically categorized into a hierarchical network of basic, organizing, and global themes. To enhance the trustworthiness of the findings, multiple validation strategies were employed, including confirmability (participant validation), dependability (re-coding by a secondary researcher), and triangulation among the research team members.
Findings: The findings of the study revealed that the ineffective transfer of soft skills to the actual work environment is a multidimensional phenomenon shaped by the complex interplay of individual, instructional, and organizational factors. In total, 55 conceptual codes were identified and categorized into three organizing themes and one overarching global theme. The global theme of the study is defined as: “The non-transfer of soft skills through organizational training.”
The three organizing themes are as follows:

Individual Factors

Participants pointed to several personal-level barriers, including the prioritization of operational tasks over training, lack of motivation to participate in training sessions or apply acquired skills, high workload, and the generic nature of training content that lacked relevance to specific job-related needs. In this domain, many employees perceived training as a secondary or non-essential activity relative to their formal job responsibilities.

Instructional Factors

Among the most significant challenges related to the instructional dimension of soft skills training were the theoretical nature of content delivery, temporal fragmentation and lack of continuity in training programs, the limited availability of soft skills training compared to technical courses, the lack of resemblance between training scenarios and real workplace situations, reliance on traditional, non-interactive teaching methods, and the overall lack of practicality in instructional strategies. According to participants, the training sessions often resembled didactic lectures with stereotypical presentations of concepts, offering little opportunity for hands-on practice or formative feedback.

Organizational Factors

This theme encompassed several structural and cultural impediments, including the optional nature of training programs with no alignment to career pathways, managerial indifference toward the importance of soft skills development, the absence of effective evaluation systems for monitoring the application of learned skills in practice, lack of organizational incentives or rewards for behavior change based on training, and an overall deficit in the culture of continuous learning. These organizational shortcomings have contributed to the neutralization of learning in practice, resulting in a persistent gap between training initiatives and actual workplace performance.
Discussion and Conclusion: The findings of this study underscore the necessity of adopting an integrated and systemic perspective toward organizational soft skills training. Challenges identified at the individual, instructional, and organizational levels contribute to the reduction of training into a bureaucratic procedure rather than a meaningful and impactful learning experience. The misalignment between actual job-related needs and course content, the absence of practical training opportunities, reliance on traditional pedagogical approaches, lack of institutional support systems, and the absence of a collaborative learning culture collectively diminish the effectiveness of soft skills education in real-world contexts. It is recommended that the design of soft skills training curricula in organizations be developed through the active engagement of key stakeholders—including employees, managers, and learning professionals. Furthermore, instructional delivery should incorporate realistic job-related scenarios, opportunities for hands-on practice, ongoing feedback, and performance-based assessments. Integrating training into employees’ career development pathways and fostering a culture of continuous learning within the organizational environment are critical for the successful and sustainable implementation of soft skills in the workplace.