We’re sure you heard that multilingual people make better employees before, but did you ever pay much attention to the idea behind it and its implications?
If not, today we’ll show you why, when given the opportunity to choose, you should lean more towards people with a colourful lingual background (whether they’re your employees or collaborators).
Openness to New Ideas
According to the latest scientific discoveries, learning a second, third, or fourth language literally changes the structure of the brain, creating new neural pathways. As a result, the possessors of such brains are more open to new ideas, accept change differently, and are not scared to introduce variety in their environment.
Moreover, linguistic determinism theorises that the structure of the language(s) we speak plays a role in the way we perceive the world around us. According to those who support this school of thought, people who speak a language with a different structure think, behave and communicate differently.
In conclusion, when you bounce ideas off a multilingual person, they may actually provide you with a change of perception, or a new point of view you haven’t considered.
Better Problem-Solving Skills
The ability to solve problems quickly and without being influenced by stress or other external factors is held in high regard in the business environment.
As it turns out, problem-solving is not that difficult for people who speak multiple languages on a regular basis. The switch that happens in the brain when you move from one language to another provides the person with a valuable skill: judging a situation from different angles.
Moreover, whenever you feel stuck with a project, a multilingual business partner may find a creative and unique solution that pushes things forward. Of course, they are not magical workers, and they should also be knowledgeable in the field you’re working, but they have the advantage of a broader perspective.
For instance, our team usually provides customers with ideas and advice on how to organise their documents or how to process various language information easier and faster. They also offer guidance when it comes to addressing an issue (legal, technical, financial, or others) from the point of view of a linguist.
Enhanced Productivity
While multitasking was proved to be a myth that’s actually time-consuming and lowers productivity, multilingual people somehow manage to make it work.
The fact that they need to master two or more languages, that use different grammatical systems and different structures, makes them more productive in their field of work. They can do multitasking to some extent and it takes less for their brain to adapt to change (such as a new task or a different work situation).
Not to mention, it’s easier for them to notice pattern errors since their brain is constantly switching between multiple patterns.
For instance, people who are not used to multiple languages will easily miss typos and grammar mistakes on a document written in their native language. On the other hand, a multilingual person will spot some of these mistakes on a cursory reading.
Wrap Up
People who can see things from a different angle and can adapt easily to change are extremely valuable for any company. Luckily, in today’s day and age, businesses can tap in a world-wide pool of talent!
Due to fast Internet connections and communication technologies, you can collaborate with people located all over the world. Take our team for instance: we collaborate with native linguists and specialists from various countries. As a result, our work is always accurate and on-point, which is why so many customers choose our services.