Data Watch

Companies Contend with Creativity Gap

Creativity and innovation are to be the cornerstones of U.S. competitiveness in coming years, experts agree. In fact, the "creative economy” is a term coined by Richard Florida, an economist and author of Rise of the Creative Class. But, while an overwhelming majority of American workers believe that they are instinctively creative, fewer than two in three think that they are tapping these creative capacities on the job, a new survey finds.

The Creativity Survey, commissioned by the Fairfax County (Virginia) Economic Development Authority and conducted by IPSOS Public Affairs, finds that 88% of U.S. workers consider themselves creative. But when it comes to creativity in the workplace, just 63% say that their positions are creative, and a comparable 61% think similarly about their employer. The survey’s creators dub this a "creativity gap,” defined as the disparity between the creative resources available and the creative capabilities of the employed.

The notion of a creative economy maintains that creativity is an economic engine, and that creative people—from software engineers to healthcare professionals to entrepreneurs—provide a critical stimulus for economic growth. A creativity gap, the researchers contend, can be an important indicator in determining how well American companies are preparing for a future U.S. economy that will rely more than ever on creativity and innovation.

For the survey, IPSOS interviewed 564 adults via phone. A total of 75% of respondents say that they think their employers value their creativity. More than one in five (21%) say that they would change jobs—even if it meant earning less money—in order to be more creative at work. Well more than a quarter (29%) of those surveyed indicate that they would change where they live if it meant being part of a more creative community, a finding especially true of workers ages 18-34 (37%).