4 reasons to create a positive and creative work environment

We have just about hit our six-month anniversary in our new studio in Keilor East. It has been a slow process furnishing it with some loved pre-owned items and lots of new additions including a dedicated meeting space and working areas, but we still have a bit to go. We realised early on that much thought was needed to ensure we curate a positive and creative work environment for our growing team, both from a physical and managerial perspective.

“An openly positive and creative workplace inspires team members to exchange and share ideas with others to build them into something greater.”

Here we share our top 4 reasons why we feel this is important.

Positivity ignites motivation

Having a team that continuously motivate each other creates a positive atmosphere. Dr. Bob Nelson, a leading authority on the topics of employee engagement, motivation and retention, states that “an employee’s motivation is a direct result of the sum of interactions with his or her manager.” Furthermore, it increases employee commitment, ongoing development and efficiency, therefore, managerial and employee relationships are a very valuable element in any workplace.

At ideapro, we have weekly individual progress meetings with our employees (we are a small business so this is a bit easier) where we review what work they’ve done, prioritise what’s upcoming and enable a forum for regular feedback to help foster growth and development.

It helps promote innovation and creativity

An openly positive and creative workplace inspires workers to exchange and share ideas with others to build them into something greater. Ideas are rarely perfect on the first try, they need to be challenged, redrawn, torn down and shared to shape them into their finest form.
Innovation within the workplace is what fuels growth and development. It is very important for businesses to continue to forward think and encourage measured expansion of their company to ensure differentiation from competitors, whilst continuing to meet customer needs. The world around us is always evolving and so are our clients, therefore, utilising innovation is a great way to stay relevant.

Within our studio we are regularly hosting group brainstorms together, with every thought acknowledged and encouraged to ensure our entire team is learning, pushing themselves and applying knowledge so our clients can receive the best of our ideas.

It enhances your mood

Creativity helps you have more fun. If workers enjoy and are engaged in their job they will voluntarily give more of their time, effort and take more initiative in their role. As Rosie, our marketing strategist shares, “your workplace is where you’ll spend a lot of your time, therefore, it is so important you enjoy it”.

It is not a myth that you can enjoy your job or have fun at work, but it is something that can and should be curated with intention. Here at ideapro we play music in the office, often share a joke and enjoy a laugh and encourage employees to get to know each other on a more personal level by having lunch together. Increased workplace engagement and interaction improves the ability to attract and retain quality employees, so it’s important to give weight to the ‘mood’ in the office.

It reflects in your work

Happy workers = Higher results. The environment your team works within will have an impact on their productivity levels and the quality of their work. For instance, how well do you think you would perform if you had to write a report or have a meeting in a place that was messy, loud, and where co-workers were unfriendly? Would you want to continue to work here?

Now not everyone is the same, some may prefer to work with background noise, others in silence, however a happy medium between co-workers does need to be established.  Ask them what they do and don’t prefer and make an educated decision on what will work best for the broader team. When team members are not aligned, this has a negative impact on the outcome of a project or task, the consequence being that your business reputation and quality is likely being damaged. Employees are a large reflection of a business, which is why it is important for them to be comfortable and happy so they can increase the likelihood of success within a company.

Being a design and marketing-based studio, it is highly important for us to maintain creativity within our environment. However, we believe creativity is needed and should be fostered across every field. Exploring different ideas and experiments to develop the best solutions, approaches, products and services can be utilised in every organisation. Pairing this with a positive approach and environment, encourages and motivates employees within a business to advocate these principles within their work and branch them out to your clients and or customers.

“Choose a job you love, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” Confucius

If you would like to know how we can inject positivity and creativity into your business and brand, be sure to get in touch with our team.