How Your Work Environment Influences Your Creativity

As we grow older, we take cues from our environment and become serious and rigid, conforming to the norms and rules imposed upon us.

Our social environment, especially our workplace can affect our creativity, as we lose our freedom and playfulness, not able to conjure up new ideas or do any innovative thinking.

In the 70s, creativity was thought of as a trait, something a few geniuses have, and the rest of us do not.

New studies show that ‘extrinsic’ motivators, factors outside ourselves, can influence our creativity. Competition, evaluation, level of strictness along with rewards and punishment play a huge factor in a person’s overall creative levels.

Knowledge that someone will check, evaluate and grade one’s work, surveillance, a promise of a reward, threat of a punishment, creative constraints, competition and motivating factors like power, money and fame can kill creativity.

Rewards generally provide the individual with a feeling of being controlled, but can also enhance creativity in some cases.

Intellectual challenges, alone with sufficient resources and freedom to experiment are the ideal ingredients of a creative workplace.

Managers should encourage innovative thinking and be trusting, and supportive towards the team, while being receptive to new ideas. Clear, honest communication, along with clarity of goals fosters a free flow of ideas, important for high creativity.

Managers need to pay attention to the needs of the subordinates to make progress in the core work, while providing them sufficient resources and time, and encouraging them to learn from failure.

Organizations can save a lot of time and money by fostering creativity instead of waiting to hire that elusive creative person.