Entrepreneurs Will Become Younger But Less Verbally Communicative

According to a recent study, the next generation of workers will be more entrepreneurial but less verbally communicative, preferring to communicate via technology rather than face-to-face.

The research compared the preferred working behaviour of 1,695 school pupils to the profiles of almost one hundred thousand working people and measured four personality factors, namely dominance (D), influence (I), steadiness (S) and compliance (C).

It found that twice as many young people report a preference towards being competitive and assertive self-starters and highlighted the rise in “high dominance” personality types, who expect and want freedom, authority, power, material reward and innovation to be part of their working lives.

Interestingly, the study also found that there has been a reduction of more than 20 per cent in the number of young people with an ‘I’ profile, meaning those that are friendly, persuasive and good communicators.

The report suggests that this could be because young people are increasingly dependent on technology for communication rather than face-to-face interaction.

According to the researchers, businesses hiring school leavers and graduates over the next five years will need to take this change in working behaviour into account if they are to get the best out of them.

As the report points out, employers who take on a ‘high D’, for example will need to challenge them, as they are driven by tough assignments and a full workload. High Ds can be entrepreneurial, focused on results and driving growth but could also struggle to work for someone or within narrow boundaries.

Therefore, high Ds could be the entrepreneurs of the future but in order to be as successful as the entrepreneurs of today, they will have to increase their communication skills or work with people who possess complementary skills.