The symbolic meaning of creativity - perceptions of routines and creativity in a contemporary office setting

Abstract: Our main finding was that creativity could be understood as a symbolic. The perceptions of creativity can be contagious, when the routinized worker associates him or herself with the creative outcome of the team. For the employee the symbolic meaning might also work as a distraction from alienation and provide more meaning to performing routinized tasks. We also saw how routines can be perceived enabling to reach work efficiency and organizational goals. However, we found that from an individual perspective the same routines can be perceived differently, where the employee might be constrained from performing challenging tasks and creative work. Routines in our case company stem from commercial goals such as work efficiency. We found that a salient commercial focus in organizations might direct creativity to a reactive nature. Hence, in Fashion Inc. employees mostly perceived creativity as solving problems in a creative manner.