By Jacob Lee
“Creativity is intelligence having fun!” –Albert Einstein
As one of the world’s most analytical thinkers, Albert Einstein acknowledged the role and importance of creativity. Unfortunately, creativity is viewed by some as unnecessary for the day-to-day operations of a company. Company administrators may feel the design and structure of their organizations omit the need for creativity. However, creativity and innovation are crucial for the growth and ingenuity of a company.1
Introducing creativity into the workplace may be a difficult task to accomplish, but it is most successful when it begins at the employee level—doing so will create a ripple effect throughout the rest of the organization. Below are four benefits of implementing creativity and innovation into employee careers:
- Foster Creativity
- Prevent Stagnation
- Neutralize Burnout
- Generate Career Satisfaction
Focusing on these four key benefits will provide more growth and new opportunities for both employees and employers.
Foster Creativity
Companies that implement creativity and innovation in their cultures will transform their work from lifeless to fulfilling. With creative innovation, companies progress to new heights.
Every company position should apply creativity and innovation to its unique role. Application can be as simple as looking for new ways of improving personal work processes, finding ways to improve the company, or fine-tuning a team’s effectiveness.
Creativity in the workplace is important for several reasons. In the article, “Why is Creativity Important in the Workplace?”, Cheryl Viola states, “It is creativity that keeps your business moving forward with fresh new ideas and innovation. This encompasses more than new products or services, it includes streamlining efficiency and productiveness.”2
Every employee has the responsibility to employ creativity and innovation in their work for the sole purpose of moving their company and career forward.
Applying creativity can be a daunting task. Some employees may feel that the risk of rejection is too high to offer new ideas.
Many experience apprehension when sharing new ideas because they fear their peers will have poor reactions to their untested ideas. Individuals’ apprehensions will hinder them from reaching outside their routine tasks, keeping employees locked inside their comfort zone. Management should help create a safe area for employees to share ideas. Safe zones improve employees’ focus on the big picture and help them become more emotionally invested in the company.3
Prevent Stagnation
Companies that have employees emotionally invested in the organization will prevent employee career stagnation. Career stagnation often occurs when management assigns responsibilities that are too repetitive or do not allow employees to move outside the normal routine. The ease of having an individual repeatedly handle the same responsibilities is appealing, but this style stems from a top-down view of organizational control.4 A top-down view of control encourages management to anticipate the direct monetary return from each company position.
Organizations that allow their employees to be more creative will foster a culture of respect and will find no need to control everything.
Upper-level management, board members, and employees all benefit from creative and innovative ideas within companies. The world of business continues to change, and companies cannot afford to put innovative and creative ideas in the shadows. Companies need all available avenues to remain innovative and be more competitive in the market.
Neutralize Burnout
Figure 1 shows the percentage of men and women who feel the effects of burnout in their careers. Eliana Dockterman, a staff writer for Time magazine, surveyed and recorded the participants’ responses and compared the findings to the previous year’s results.
Figure 1: Employee burnout by gender
Men and women alike are experiencing an increase in burnout from only a year ago. Alongside stagnation, burnout is a real challenge that employees and management face. Hiring new employees because previous employees felt tired and overburdened with their workload is costly and time-consuming. Investing in solutions to avoid burnout will prevent unnecessary employee turnover. A cost-efficient approach to prevent burnout is helping employees implement creativity and innovation into their daily routines.
The idea of encouraging employees to take time to be creative seems simple, but today’s leaders have overlooked the importance of focusing on simple procedures that build companies.5 Companies may perceive the time required to step back and prioritize team goals as a waste of resources, but allowing the time to assess team morale will prevent burnout and reduce costly turnovers.
Several companies have begun to implement creative sessions as part of employee work routines, including organizations like Tesla, Squarespace, and Google. Employee creativity not only provides companies with new ideas on how to improve but also alleviates workload burnout. Employee innovation is also a great recruiting tool for future employees actively searching for an engaging career.
Generate Career Satisfaction
Figure 2 shows the results of a research study done by Psychologist Susana M. Tavares, Ph.D. on the impact of creativity underlying innovative behavior on employees’ positive effects at work. The results are rated on a seven-point scale ranging from “Totally False” (1) to “Totally True” (7).6
Figure 2: Impact of creativity in the workplace on a seven-point scale
The results show a promising correlation between the influence of creativity on overall work ethic and meaningfulness found in the careers of employees. Creativity has a significant impact on individuals’ positivity and career outlook.
Employees found their work more meaningful due to the creative behaviors they were instructed to follow. Implementing creativity in the workplace will increase employee promotion focus, positivity, and purpose.
Career satisfaction is a top priority for employees, and, as such, it should be a top priority for companies. Employees make up a large portion of an organization’s assets and should be properly maintained alongside the rest of a company’s equipment.
A company’s management should help facilitate employee career satisfaction. Indeed’s five-step process of creativity below will help guide managers to facilitate innovation:
- Prepare and perform research
- Meditate on the problem
- Disconnect from the problem
- Let the idea emerge
- Develop the idea and put it into practice
Implementing creativity and innovation may be particularly hard for some individuals. Indeed’s main points provide their best practices to get creative ideas flowing.7
Starting with the thoughts and ideas of others is a great way to bring new ideas to life. Researching and considering the ideas of others will springboard employees into innovating and discovering new avenues.
Sometimes employees will try too hard to come up with new ways of doing things without success to the point that they give up on being creative. Disconnecting from the problem or situation is a great way of staying creative. Top companies like Google implement creativity in their workday by having a specific place employees go to have fun and brainstorm. Having a location that removes employees from their normal work area is an effective tool.
The next step in Indeed’s model is to let the idea come in time. The hardest part about being creative is the patience that is required when coming up with a new idea. Let new ideas come when they come. Trying to force new ideas often feels awkward or out of place. Most of the best ideas come in the moment by realizing that a process, tool, or experience could be made better.
Develop ideas by doing market research. Find the target market and test new ideas. Get as much feedback as possible and keep building upon the idea. Do not become discouraged, but, instead, learn to pivot ideas into something even better than imagined.
Moving from one idea to the next will help employees become involved in their careers, avoid stagnation, and prevent burnout. Career success and satisfaction will be found in proactively creating and evolving the workplace.
Conclusion
Kathy Caprino claims that “Our need for individual and organizational creativity in the workplace and in business has never been greater.”8 Companies need creativity and innovation. Be proactive in implementing creativity in the workplace. Encourage others to do the same.
The benefits of creativity and innovation far outweigh any trepidation employees may feel. Invest in employees and avoid high turnover rates. Beat stagnation by helping employees apply creativity and innovation to their daily workload. With creativity and innovation, employees’ careers will be more fulfilling and lead to more effective work.
Companies stay more competitive by fostering a culture of creativity and providing a space for employees to be creative. As companies facilitate and help individuals apply creative innovation to their work ethics, overall job satisfaction and drive will improve. Future employees will flock to companies that allow them to work outside the traditional workspace and become a real part of the organization. Be the company people want to be a part of.
If management applies these principles, profitability and a culture of involved employees will be the ultimate outcome.
Notes
- Michael D. Mumford and Dean Keith Simonton. “Creativity in the workplace: People, problems, and structures.” The Journal of Creative Behavior 31, no. 1 (1997): 1-6.
- Cheryl Viola, 2021, “Why is Creativity Important in the Workplace? | Jerome Chamber of Commerce”. Jerome Chamber of Commerce. https://visitjeromeidaho.com/2019/03/why-iscreativity-important-in-the-workplace/.
- Gerhard Speckbacher, “Does performance evaluation kill creativity? A (re) interpretation of existing literature.” Pacific Accounting Review (2021).
- Rebecca Shambaugh, 2021. “How to Unlock Your Team’s Creativity”. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2019/01/how–to–unlock–your–teamscreativity.
- Susana M. Tavares, “How does creativity at work influence employee’s positive affect at work?.” European journal of work and organizational psychology 25, no. 4 (2016): 525-539.
- Indeed.com. https://www.indeed.com/careeradvice/career–development/creativity–in–theworkplace.
- Kathy Caprino, 2021. “Keys To Expanding Creativity In Our Work And Leadership, And Why We Need To”. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathycaprino/2021/10 /11/keys–to–expanding–creativity–in–our–work–andleadership–and–why–we–need–to/?sh=320c42de3631.