Today, the creative economy is the fastest growing territory, so the knowledge worker is crucial. Ideas are the new currency. Businesses are sharply focused on new products and new services. Creative thinking is the catalyst for innovation. But if innovation was easy, everyone would be doing it! There are internal obstacles to creativity in business. These take the form of both personal and organizational obstacles and one of the enduring barriers is perhaps the workplace itself.

If we are building environments for creativity, what do we want those environments to do? There is a parallel between physical and mental activity. Physical ergonomics is a highly developed field, usually called Human Factors. Ergonomics is traditionally concerned with physical comfort. Cognitive Ergonomics studies thinking processes in the work environment, to improve individual and group performance. Cognitive Ergonomics is a parallel area concerned with “mental comfort”. If we match our workplace to our physical ergonomics, why don’t we match our workplace to our mental ergonomics? If thinking is so important to business and the wider economy (the Creative Class), why don’t we match our workplace to the way our minds work?

Speaker - Sandy Godwin, Market Manager, Kimball Office