Wanted: Creativity in the Workplace

Students are wiser than high paying corporations. The office hours of 9am to 5pm fail to account for what is best for human productivity. Sitting at a desk for eight or more hours in a day saps energy and hinders effective task completion.

Students complete their work at all hours of the night and day. They maximize their most productive hours and capitalize on high motivation levels. Without pressures of deadlines or other constraints, motivation wanes and students procrastinate. Why should employees be any different?

Requiring a certain set of hours is less effective than assigning tasks and deadlines. Imagine if professors required a log of X hours spent in the library researching a topic. This incentivizes low productivity and no output. Athletes in study hall have the incentive to waste the time.

A task-oriented business world recognizes the basic human desires and incentives. High-performing employees are rewarded with an early end to the day. Low-performers are penalized by having to work more hours to complete same tasks. Yet their inefficiency only would hurt themselves, not their employers.

The human body is not made to work long periods of work, such as eight or more hours in the same location behind the same desk at the same computer. Efficiency is increased with regular and punctuated breaks. They provide a chance for the worker to rest his brain and stretch his body. The 9am to 5pm tradition must be made passe.

Think of an office at Friday, mid-afternoon, when people start counting down until they can leave. Those last few hours rapidly diminish in productivity. Everyone knows that the office is closing soon, but most are required to stay until the end of the day. Their incentives to stay focused have already left for the weekend. The business loses out on their time.

Offices tend to stifle creativity. The same professional (read: boring) setting, the same computer screens and the same environment hinders innovation. Artists of all types seek imaginative environments that stimulate creative ideas. Businesses desire innovation and creativity, but most workplaces are designed in a one-size-fits-all manner.

The Google offices have implemented these ideas by providing Legos, Buckyballs, Rubik's cubes, recreation areas, and colorful walls, chairs and bean bags. They recognize the correlation between imaginative environments and increased creativity. Plus it makes for a happier and friendlier office space.

Students naturally seek work locations that best fit their needs. Some have a favorite desk at the library; others go to a different part of the library every time. Some work at a desk; others in a large, comfy chair. Some prefer to work in a cafe or the student union; others seek a solitary location. They are productive in different settings.

Creativity makes the world go round. It's time for the business world to allow people the freedom to work at their own pace and let their creative ideas flourish.