It’s hard to imagine that one’s workplace can affect their creativity, but the truth is it does.
However, the first place creativity starts is within the company’s culture. Leaders should promote creativity as an integral part of doing business. It’s important to inspire and encourage associates to feel empowered and comfortable sharing their ideas.
Once there’s a culture of creativity that exists, it pools over into the company. When there’s an organization that supports this concept, a workspace becomes an extension of supporting a creative environment.
A workspace can impact creativity by:
- Providing opportunities for collaboration. Creativity thrives on the discussion of new ideas. When spaces are designed with areas of collaboration in mind, thought processes evolve, allowing associates to critically think about solving complex problems in their jobs. Whether it’s a team of 2 or 20, groups can brainstorm and think differently when the space accommodates them.
- Increasing visibility of team members across different functions and levels. For those who may be in traditional private offices, open floor plans increase visibility of leaders who may not otherwise be normally visible in those settings. It allows different levels of employees to engage when appropriate, reducing former access barriers due to traditional corporate hierarchy.
- Influencing creativity through settings. Depending on the type of work being done, carefully created spaces can encourage dialogue and teamwork, as well as head’s down time to reflect on individual work. Independent and group work are both supported, lending a hand to further the creative process.
Workspaces can impact creativity in more ways than one. However, it starts within the culture and organization, so associates are empowered to think in new ways and approach problem-solving with new foresight. Does your workspace impact your creativity?
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