Something critical is missing from a typical workday in many North American offices. Many professional settings are devoid of engaging interactions and interesting projects. A stale, mundane professional setting can result in lower efficiency, dismal employee retention, and a potentially toxic work environment.

The Situation

You wake up to the sound of your alarm blaring. It’s another Monday morning. Since you’re not running as late as usual, you grab some coffee, a light breakfast, and make it to the office on time. You exchange polite greetings with your coworkers and head to your cubicle. After making calls to faceless clients and sending a torrent of emails throughout the day, you finally make it home. You make dinner and have two to three hours of time to yourself before heading back to bed to start the cycle all over. What is a solution to this problem? Creativity. 

The Power of Creative Framing

Creativity – the sense of ingenuity, energy, and vibrancy that radiates from engaging tasks – is essential to a thriving workplace. There are ample opportunities to foster it on an individual and institution-wide scale. With a few changes to the baseline interactions within an office setting, stagnant work culture can drastically improve. Whether you are a low-level employee or in a leadership role, you will benefit from introducing a creative outlook to your work. 

Creative Collaboration – Making Meaningful Connections With Colleagues

In a traditional office setting, projects involving multiple individuals may elicit groans from participants. If employees are isolated from each other, inevitable interactions can be cumbersome and frustrating. However, if there is an expectation for daily collaboration, interpersonal creativity can be unleashed to its full potential. Teams that seek input from multiple sources during all stages of a project have more chances for a breakthrough idea to emerge. Although some forms of routine interaction can be potentially distracting, the intentional facilitation of creative interactions leads to better team engagement. Over time, this cross-pollination of employees results in better professional outcomes. 

Innovative Ideas – Increasing Creative Flow

Both teams and individuals benefit from increased creative flexibility. If daily tasks are tedious and repetitive, this will inevitably lead to low engagement as employees adapt to the expected norm. Instead, if tasks are imaginative, novel, and energizing, the staff will rise to the occasion to generate better ideas. In the long run, this will result in greater innovation for both individuals, collaborative teams, and the institution as a whole.