First of all, it is worth figuring out in what conditions new ideas are born and how the creative process works from the point of view of the work of the human brain. It is important to understand that creativity is not a gift, but a skill that can be developed. It is not the right hemisphere that is responsible for it, as is commonly believed, but the entire brain, therefore, the working environment should support the entire chain of the thought process, and not some separate part.
There are 4 stages of the creative process: preparation (gathering information and gaining new knowledge), weighing (forming connections between current knowledge and new information), insight (the emergence of a new idea) and verification (testing the idea on others).
This process is cyclical, that is, as a result of verification, we receive feedback, on its basis we generate new ideas and evaluate them until these ideas are fully formed and tested. Without spending proper time on each of these stages, we will not get a working creative idea.
Over time, this process flows more naturally, especially as we improve our knowledge and skills, follow the right work habits and understand how to combine new ideas and select the best ones. It should be noted that people with extensive knowledge on a variety of issues are more likely to have new ideas. Through their curiosity, they develop an openness to new experiences, which is closely related to creativity. Their deep understanding of various subjects provides more “raw materials” for new connections between knowledge, leading to new ideas.
Convergent and divergent thinking
There are 2 types of thinking - convergent and divergent. The first is responsible for finding a direct answer to a specific question, which requires knowledge of previously learned facts and methods. And divergent thinking is the creative process of coming up with a solution, creating new ideas.
Convergent thinking is responsible for two stages of the creative process - verification and preparation. At this time, we assimilate new information, so the ability to focus is very important for this type of thinking. When the environment carries with it many distractions, we have to spend more cognitive effort to control our attention, and given our limited cognitive resources, there should be areas near the workplace to rest and recuperate.
Distractions can also be internal, when our own emotions get in the way. Experiments show that being overly aroused or stressed, productivity is significantly reduced when performing urgent tasks that require concentration. At the same time, the absence of emotions in general, that is, boredom, also negatively affects productivity, since in this state we cannot hold our attention for a long time. For example, during meetings, our thoughts often go the other way, if the subject is not interesting. Therefore, for concentration work, it is important that the tasks themselves are fun and challenging, but at the same time doable.
In contrast, for tasks involving divergent thinking, external stimuli can be helpful. The stages of weighing and insight are less focused, and the more we turn our attention to different things, the more likely it is that a new connection will appear in our head, forming a fresh idea. That is, divergent thinking requires areas with a minimum level of privacy, bright design, open views from the window and objects of inspiration that help stimulate the imagination and are more often distracted, despite the fact that this may seem counterproductive.
Haworth Ideation Group strategists point out that boredom that gets in the way of normal, focused work can go a long way in generating new ideas. Studies show that when we are more relaxed, thinking about something distracted or engaged in routine activities, our brain in the background considers various options for solving problems and looks for the right connections, forming new ideas. Therefore, insight often comes suddenly when we do something unconsciously, for example, we are driving on public transport or walking down the street.
Understanding this process, many companies create special places in which people could be distracted from work and briefly change activities, so that the brain was working on new ideas at this time. For example, this could be a play area or a gym. Knowing the preferences of your employees makes it easier to create the right space for them, otherwise there is a risk of solutions that no one will use.
Unfortunately, the need to create a variety of zones is not always taken into account, and often the same type of layout prevails in offices - this is either a completely open space of the open space type, or a cabinet system with high barriers. To create an environment conducive to innovation, it is necessary to maintain a balance between open and closed spaces, as well as strive for a variety of functional areas, so that each employee can find the optimal place for themselves where they can replenish energy, reflect on a task or do distractions to catch inspiration. …
When the office has zones for both convergent and divergent thinking, employees can go through all stages of the creative process, alternately switching between these modes. Haworth Ideation Group experts argue that each person has a different switching frequency and depends on several parameters: how well he can concentrate, how much time he needs to rest and recover energy, the amount of knowledge he already has, the need for additional knowledge and current stages of the creative process.
According to research, the 10% of the most productive employees, on average, take a 15-minute break after every hour of focused work. Switching between modes can occur with different frequencies, sometimes so quickly that it is no longer possible to determine which mode a person is in. We absorb information, come up with new ideas and immediately refine them - and all this without applying additional efforts. In this state, we are as focused as possible, while cognitive efforts are not spent on maintaining concentration, but instead spent on finding new ideas and solutions. Thus, we engage convergent and divergent thinking at the same time. At the same time, we lose track of time, but we reach the maximum level of productivity. This state, called “flow,” is not easy to enter, but with the right skills, attitude and motivation, and an appropriate work environment that supports all the necessary conditions and types of activity, it is much easier to achieve.
Teamwork
In order to complement our ideas and test their usefulness and originality, we need to interact with other people. That is, the creative process affects not only individual, but also teamwork, during which knowledge is exchanged.
For successful team creative work, all participants in the process must be well acquainted with each other, have communication experience, common memories and a history of relationships. More open interpersonal communication and good relationships between colleagues encourage easy and frank expression of thoughts and ideas. Employees are not afraid to truthfully discuss and evaluate proposals, as well as to hear criticism in return.
Confidential communication can be impeded by a company's organizational culture, in which mistakes are condemned and punished. In this case, people do not dare to take responsibility and take the initiative. When a company values new ideas and treats mistakes as good experiences after a failure, employees are not afraid to say things that they wouldn’t have voiced otherwise.
Thus, creating an effective creative environment requires not only areas for teamwork, where functional tasks can be solved, but also social spaces that promote informal communication and improve team spirit in the company.
In addition, according to a study by the Haworth Ideation Group, employees' creativity is highest in those companies or departments in which the hierarchy is less pronounced. That is, for the effective development of innovations, one should strive to create small teams and work groups with a horizontal management structure that interact with each other within the organization, as well as with external agents, as a result of which there are more interactions and connections between knowledge objects.
Organization of space for the creative process
When creating zones for working in concentration, you need to not only ensure full or partial privacy, but also provide the user with the opportunity to customize the place for themselves and their work preferences in order to maximize the use of cognitive resources. To do this, pay attention to the following four points.
Fencing. Protection from distractions that interfere with focus, including visual barriers (walls, partitions), information warnings (do not disturb signs), or acoustic barriers (headphones or sufficient distance from a noise source).
Access to the information. Providing space with digital and physical materials (books, magazines, design objects) so that employees receive new information or refresh existing knowledge.
Visualization. Sufficient number of surfaces for visual display of information, records, argumentation and visual communication.
Communications. Communication through media solutions or personal interaction with other colleagues to exchange views on a specific topic.
Given these attributes, the user will have a choice of which tools to use and how. For example, access to information is more important for individual work, while visualization is more often used for group discussion.
Space for rest and replenishment should provide employees with a choice of place and time. Some people prefer short breaks to quickly distract themselves, take a break and return to the task, others need more time to recover, which requires separate areas for individual or group rest. The organization of these zones depends on which methods of “recharging” employees choose and how much time they need to do this. Taking into account the different individual characteristics of employees, it is necessary to provide a variety of recreation and regeneration areas so that each employee finds the most comfortable place for himself.
User control of space in rest areas is far less important than in concentrated work areas. But at the same time, it is necessary to provide them with basic visualization and communication tools, for example, Wi-Fi and a whiteboard, in case there is a new idea that you want to share.
In order not to burden the cognitive resources of employees, which are better directed to the creative process, navigation in the space should be simple and intuitive. This applies not only to places for concentrated work or rest, but also for the entire office in general. To do this, each zone is highlighted with a special color, inscription, graphics, architectural element. Also, employees should immediately understand the purpose of a particular space and what type of activity it is best to perform in it. This will allow you not to be distracted by unnecessary thoughts or a long search for a suitable zone, but will immediately direct your cognitive efforts in a constructive direction.
Thus, creating an office environment for effective creative work is not only about developing a creative, inspiring interior. This is a complex process, as a result of which it is necessary to provide for the required number of different functional areas with different levels of privacy and acoustic comfort for both individual and group work, as well as a variety of places for regeneration and collective recreation, contributing to the increase of the team spirit of the company.
