ABSTRACT
The ability to nurture and implement employee creativity, grounded in the ability to test and experiment, can be the cutting edge in creating well-nurtured organizations and healthy employees. Human creativity is one of our greatest resources, whether we chose to see it from an economic, biological, corporate or cultural perspective. In fact, research shows that creativity increases not only the economic profit of the organization but also the psychological well-being of employees. All individuals have the ability to be creative and need space to nurture their creativity, regardless of whether one works in a creative or more routine-driven organization. The opportunity to contribute to the development and success of the workplace by generating and implementing creative ideas appears to be much more motivating and meaningful to individuals than monetary rewards, such as an increase in salary. But despite the fact that creativity has beneficial influences on human and economic growth, and is considered to be a fundamental resource within an organization, not many organizations value it. One reason might be that creativity has a dark side as well. Creativity is a risky behavior that may or may not lead to successful innovation and contains thus a great amount of uncertainty, frustration and other negative emotions. Further, creativity usually involves questioning prevailing norms, which can be problematic if the organization prefers the status quo. Often, larger organizations tend to rely heavily on routines, procedures and processes that have delivered success in the past. The problem is not the routines but the consequence of relying heavily on them, which can manifest itself in inflexibility, rigidity and a fear of the unknown, and consequently lead to the avoidance of creativity. But preventing creative potential can cause problems for both the employee and the workplace. Employees risk negative stress and low levels of well-being, and consequently cope less effectively with stress than employees whose creativity is acknowledged and implemented (Rasulzada & Dackert, 2009). Workplaces that prevent creativity, freedom and thereby development risk stagnation and uncompetitiveness (Ekvall, 1990).
