Ten workplace design strategies that support innovation and creativity

Research suggests workplace design can play a direct role in supporting creativity, with factors such as movement, greenery, lighting and flexibility helping shape more innovative environments

As organisations place greater emphasis on creativity, collaboration and knowledge work, the design of the workplace is becoming increasingly important to innovation outcomes.

Research across environmental psychology, workplace strategy and neuroscience suggests that physical environments can directly influence creative thinking, idea generation and problem-solving. From movement and flexibility to greenery, lighting and sensory control, a growing body of evidence highlights how workplace design can help create the conditions for more imaginative and innovative work.

Ten top strategies

Here are ten workplace strategies linked to stronger creative thinking:

Be sustainable. Wang et al. (in press) report link the ‘good-for-humanity’ sorts of thoughts that flow after organisations act in pro-Earth ways to creative problem solving. Good-for-the-world can be good for creativity.
Provide people with multiple locations to work in (Nagayama, 2023). Nagayama investigated ‘the relationship between MLW [multiple-locational work] and worker outcomes, such as engagement, creativity, and well-being. The results showed a positive association between MLW and all three outcomes, with the strongest relationship being observed for creativity. Additionally, locational feature diversity amplified the positive association between MLW and creativity. MLW can enhance creativity through the exposure to diverse stimuli gained from utilsing distinctive locational features.’ Multiple work locations noted by Nagayama include options at a workplace or spaces outside it, such as cafés and coworking sites. Comfortable amounts of environmental control are a certified creativity booster (Martens, 2011; Veitch, 2012; Samani, Rasid, and Sofian, 2015).
Supply opportunities to walk, indoors or outside (Oppezzo and Schwartz, 2014; Muralo and Handel, 2022) – through an art-lined corridor, with a route to an onsite café, around in circles on the roof, whatever is possible.
Keep visual complexity at moderate levels, like those in a residential environment designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (McCoy and Evans, 2002; Ceylan, Dul, and Aytac, 2008; Vohs, Redden, and Rahinel, 2013, Vaughan and Ostwald, 2014).
Use shades of green on surfaces (Lichtenfeld, Elliot, Maier, and Pekrun, 2012; Studente, Seppala, and Sadowska, 2016)
Select options with more curving lines in two- and three-dimensions than straight ones, for example, in upholstery fabrics and the arms of chairs (Wu, Lu, Yan Chu, Wu, and Yang, 2021).
Fill the area for creative thinking with glare-free natural light (Meinel, Maier, Wagner, and Voigt, 2017). Open the curtains. Put up the blinds.
Place a couple of meter or so high green leafy plants around a space (e.g., Hall and Knuth, 2019; Hahn, Essah, and Bianusa, 2021)
Play quiet nature soundscapes (Browning and Walker, 2018).
Remove whatever stressors you can (‘weird’ noises, temperature swings, and echoes, for instance) (Byron, Khazanchi, and Nazarian, 2010).

Sources:

Bill Browning and Dakota Walker. 2018. An Ear for Nature: Psychoacoustic Strategies for Workplace Distractions and The Bottom Line, Terrapin Bright Green, LLC Retrieved February 6, 2024, https://www.terrapinbrightgreen.com/report/an-ear-for-nature/

Byron, S. Khazanchi, and D. Nazarian. 2010. “The Relationship Between Stressors and Creativity: A Meta-Analysis Examining Competing Theoretical Models.” Journal of Applied Psychology, vol. 95, no. 1, pp. 201-212.

Ceylan, J. Dul, and S. Aytac. 2008. “Can the Office Environment Stimulate a Manager’s Creativity?” Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing, vol. 18, no. 6, pp. 589-602.

Nalise Hahn, Emmanuel Essah, and Tijana Blanusa. 2021. “Biophilic Design and Office Planting: A Case Study of Effects on Perceived Health, Well-Being and Performance Metrics in the Workplace.” Intelligent Buildings International, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 241-260.

Charles Hall and Melinda Knuth. 2019. “An Update of the Literature Supporting the Well-Being Benefits of Plants: A Review of the Emotional and Mental Health Benefits of Plants.” Journal of Environmental Horticulture, vol. 37, no. 1 pp. 30-38.

Stephanie Lichtenfeld, Andrew J. Elliot, Markus A. Maier, and Reinhard Pekrun. 2012. “Fertile Green: Green Facilitates Creative Performance.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, vol. 38, no. 6, pp. 784-797.

Yuri Martens. 2011. “Creative Workplace: Instrumental and Symbolic Support for

Creativity. Facilities, vol. 29, no.1/2, pp. 63-79.

Janetta McCoy and Gary Evans. 2002. “The Potential Role of the Physical Environment in Fostering Creativity.” Creativity Research Journal, vol. 14, no. 3-4, pp. 409-426.

Martin Meinel, Lukas Maier, Timm Wagner, and Kai-Ingo Voigt. 2017. “Designing Creativity-Enhancing Workspaces: A Critical Look at Empirical Evidence.” Journal of Technology and Innovation Management, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 1-11.

Supriya Murali and Barbara Handel. 2022. “Motor Restrictions Impair Divergent Thinking During Walking and During Walking and During Sitting.” Psychological Research, vol. 86, pp. 2144-4157.

Susumu Nagayama. 2023. “Does Working at Third Places Work? Multi-Locational Work for Engagement, Creativity, and Well-Being.” Journal of Creativity, vol. 33, no. 3, 100070.

Marilyn Oppezzo and Daniel Schwartz. 2014. “Give Your Ideas Some Legs: The Positive Effect of Walking on Creative Thinking.” Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 1142-1152.

Sanaz Samani, Siti Rasid, and Saudah bt Sofian. 2015. “Individual Control Over the Physical Work Environment to Affect Creativity.” Industrial Engineering and Management Systems, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 94-103.

Studente, N. Seppalak, and N. Sadowska, N. 2016. “Facilitating Creative Thinking in the Classroom: Investigating the Effects of Plants and the Colour Green on Visual and Verbal Creativity.” Thinking Skills and Creativity, vol. 19, pp. 1-8.

Josephine Vaughan and Michael Ostwald. 2014. “Quantifying the Changing Visual Experience of Architecture.” In F. Madeo and M. Schnabel (eds.). Across: Architectural Research Through to Practice: 48th International Conference of the Architectural Science Association. The Architectural Science Association and Genova University Press, pp. 557-568.

Jennifer Veitch. 2012. “Work Environments.” In Susan Clayton (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Environmental and Conservation Psychology. Oxford University Press: New York, pp. 248-275.

Kathleen Vohs, Joseph Redden, and Ryan Rahinel. 2013. “Physical Order Produces Healthy Choices, Generosity, and Conventionality, Whereas Disorder Produces Creativity.” Psychological Science, vol. 24, no.9, pp. 1860-1867.

Yanxia Wang, Yang Chen, and Abraham Carmeli. “Organizational Environmental Care Can Motivate Employees to Creatively Solve Customer Problems.” Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, in press.

Yueyan Wu, Chingyu Lu, Jianhui Yan, Xiao Chu, Meijiao Wu, and Zhi Yang. 2021. “Rounded or Angular? How the Physical Work Environment in Makerspaces Influences Makers’ Creativity.” Journal of Environmental Psychology, vol.73, 101546.