Some 40% of workers say creativity and innovation are neither encouraged nor rewarded in their workplace, highlighting the risk of a creativity crisis for British businesses according to research by Microsoft Surface.
The research, which surveyed 1000 UK professionals, revealed uninspiring workplaces (41%), a stressful atmosphere (34%) and a lack of appropriate spaces to focus and think alone (28%) were all identified as major inhibitors to creativity.
These creative barriers persist despite creativity being one of the top three skills workers will need to thrive by 2020, according to the World Economic Forum.
The report also found that while 73% of respondents consider themselves to be creative, demands of the modern workplace need rethinking, with symptoms such as overworking and stress stifling the ability to tackle problems and produce good ideas. Respondents felt their organisations were doing little to address the problem.
Ryan Asdourian, Windows and Surface lead, Microsoft UK said: “This research shows a clear lack of investment in innovation and creativity training, which is especially alarming when we consider the potential impact to the UK economy.
“Businesses must do more to provide employees with the right working environment to handle different kinds of tasks, and provide the flexibility to get out of the office to spark their creativity.”
B2B Marketing recently published a feature article providing seven ways brands can increase the creativity of their workforce, while separate research from Workfront revealed flexible hours are the key to business success and a better work/life balance. Brian Macreadie, head of brand and campaign marketing at law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner was recently named creative individual of the year at the B2B Marketing People Awards.
