Often mistaken for artistic ability, creativity is a tool we use in our everyday lives and is at the heart of seeking unique perspectives and ideas to create something beautiful, find solutions to complex problems, and drive innovation. For some, creativity might look like a masterful work of art or music, for others, it might look like a well-functioning Excel spreadsheet. No matter the form, creativity is necessary for the smooth functioning and continued growth of individuals, organizations, and communities. In the following paragraphs, I will demonstrate how creativity increases productivity and innovation, promotes prosocial behavior, improves safety, and increases social cohesion and well-being.

As a lifelong procrastinator who struggled with shame around my inability to complete tasks in advance, I was surprised to learn that my procrastination might just be a creative solution I used to boost my overall creativity and produce better work. Based on the work of Shin and Grant (2021), the delay helped to boost my creativity by giving me extra time to think about the work from many different perspectives and angles before I put pen to paper. In the end, I produce more thoughtful and focused work because of the extra time I gave myself to think more creatively. In addition to the use of extra time to boost creativity, seeking novel and fun experiences increases our feelings of aliveness, helps us to build stronger connections to ourselves and others, boosts innovation and increases life satisfaction (Price, 2021).

Organizations can also use creativity to help drive innovation and increase prosocial behavior in the workplace. Meng and Wang assert that by increasing awe in the workplace, we can positively increase prosocial behaviors (2023). Moments of awe, like looking at a profound piece of art or nature scene makes the viewer feel small in the sense of the world at large and force us to think beyond ourselves. When we experience this, we are more likely to help our peers, donate to important causes, and experience an increase in overall satisfaction through these prosocial behaviors (Meng and Wang, 2023). In an organization that requires cooperation and teamwork, an increase in prosocial behavior could translate to increased productivity and output, positively impacting the organization and its employees.

Cities have also turned to creative solutions to improve safety and increase social cohesion. By transforming vacant lots into lush community gardens the community benefits from a reduction in crime in the areas surrounding the garden and from larger social networks and increased social capital from bringing people together to socialize and share in a common purpose, and by giving them access to healthy food and physical movement (McCabe, 2014). Cities have also turned to creativity to address ongoing pedestrian safety issues by installing pedestrian scrambles in place of traditional crosswalks. This creative solution has been shown to reduce conflicts between cars and pedestrians (Bechtel, MacLeod, and Ragland, 2004).

Whether we are spending a little extra time to ponder an idea or hanging an awe-inspiring piece of art in the lobby of an office building, by harnessing the power of creativity, we can produce healthier, happier, and thriving individuals, organizations, and communities.

Work Cited

Bechtel, A. K., MacLeod, K. E., & Ragland, D. R. (2004). Pedestrian Scramble Signal in Chinatown Neighborhood of Oakland, California: An Evaluation. Transportation Research Record, 1878(1), 19–26. https://doi-org.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/10.3141/1878-03

McCabe, A. (2014). Community gardens to fight urban youth crime and stabilize neighborhoods. International Journal of Child Health and Human Development, 7(3), 223–.

Price, C. (2021). The Power of Fun. The Dial Press.

Shin, J., & Grant, A. M. (2021). When Putting Work Off Pays Off: The Curvilinear Relationship between Procrastination and Creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 64(3), 772–798. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMJ.2018.1471