"All employers stand to gain by promoting creativity at work. The most successful businesses are those that engender creative thinking and develop environments where everyone generates ideas, has a voice, asks questions and challenges the norm." - Mark Rhodes, Reed Recruitment
Where you work is just as important as how you work. Creativity is about openness, feeling inspired, sharing ideas, and creating the right environment – whether a workplace, studio, or home office – will feed into that.
What’s your working environment like? Is it a clinical, hot-desking environment, or does it have a more relaxed, playful feel? Do you work from a home office or find yourself doing most of your work from a coffee shop?
Many modern offices are designed to be open plan to encourage interaction and boost creativity among staff. However, a study published by The Royal Society shows that lots of people don’t like them due to our inherent need for privacy and control.
Therefore, clearly defined spaces where staff can collaborate, spend time alone, and socialize are best.
Let’s take a look at how else to get the best from your work environment, whether you work in a large open plan space or home office.
Let the Physical Space Inspire You
Here are some strategies for creating a space that stimulates rather than dampens your creativity:
Display lots of visual stimuli. Use the photos, inspirational quotes, abstract art, or your company’s values around your workplace as inspiration. How might a quote make you think differently about a topic? What can you see in abstract art that can spark a new direction in your thought process? How does your idea fit your values?
Encourage comfort. The more relaxed you are, the more creative your output, so move away from your desk and find somewhere you feel comfortable to boost your creative capacity.
Use color consciously. In one study, blue was shown to enhance performance on creative tasks, while red enhanced performance on detail-oriented tasks. So, think about how you can use these colors in the various spaces you work in.
Fill spaces with natural light. Natural light keeps you more alert and attentive throughout the day, thus helping you when problem-solving. Try to find a spot where you can benefit from natural light when you need to focus.
Bring nature inside. Biophilic design, or the design of built environments based on the benefits of connecting with nature, is good for brain function and productivity. Have potted plants around the office to increase oxygen; design spaces with patterns found in nature; and if you have an outside garden or space, try to spend a little time each day outdoors.
Has Your Workplace Established the Right Ethos?
Companies where the ethos supports creativity, have happier, more loyal staff. They do this by keeping staff engaged, letting them take responsibility for their actions, and trusting them to get their job done. Here’s how to achieve this:
Learn and teach. Do you feel motivated to learn new things? Are you encouraged to? Lifelong learning is the ongoing practice of gaining new knowledge. Learning new things helps you think outside the box and view problems from new, refreshing perspectives. Take this a step further by having knowledge-shares with colleagues, to teach each other new things. Be inspired by the adage: to learn, read; to know, write; to master, teach.
Flexible working. Creativity is often fired by the ability to think flexibly. And what happens in the mind is often mirrored in the physical environment. Find alternatives to holding meetings in conference rooms. Try working from home or holding walking meetings.
Disagree, but keep it healthy. At the heart of all debate lies a disagreement. Healthy disagreements teach you how to defend and stand up for your ideas and manage conflict.
Demonstrate autonomy. Show creativity in your resourcefulness and decision-making. Take responsibility for your actions. This will build trust and respect between you and your colleagues.
Build a culture of positive failure. Are you allowed to fail? Is it actively encouraged? Failure is simply one step in the journey to success. View failure as an opportunity to grow.
Complete Your Creative Journal
Do: Make a list of the strategies your workplace uses to enhance creativity in its workforce.
Reflect: How many of the above strategies has it adopted? What ideas would you adopt to improve your own creativity? What could your company introduce to improve the staff's creativity? How could you make these suggestions?
Let’s Recap!
Set the right physical working environment to bolster your creativity.
Creative workspaces include areas for staff to collaborate, spend time on their own, and socialize in.
A company ethos that supports creativity leads to happier, more loyal staff.
Now that you know how to develop a creative workspace, you are ready to apply creativity to job applications and interviews.
