Exploring how employee interpersonal relations affect individual creativity

Abstract

The aim of this study is to explore how employee interpersonal relations at work affect individual creativity. There has been an increase in demand for creativity throughout the years due to its personal and organisational benefits, implying that comprehending the factors influencing the development of employees’ creative potential is essential. Individuals are social beings, suggesting that their creative potential is impacted through their social ties and more specifically, their employee interpersonal relations. In this regard, the purpose of this study is to explore how employees experience interpersonal relations with their colleagues and how such relations impact their individual creativity. This research study adopts a qualitative design whereby the main data collection tools were semi-structured, face-to-face interviews based on an interview guide consisting of open-ended questions. The sample, which was recruited through purposive and snowball sampling, included 12 participants composed of 6 males and 6 females, each coming from different organisations. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used as the study’s data analysis strategy whereby the audio-recorded interviews were transcribed. The key findings and implications elicited from this study were the following: the quality of employee interpersonal relations was deemed to exceed quantity and duration in significance, the presence of trust, knowledge sharing, positive moods, humour and debates amongst co-workers, as well as the provision of constructive criticism were found to enhance creative potential and problemsolving abilities, employee interpersonal relations were believed to contribute to stressful situations through negative moods, conflict and competition whereas conformity was predominantly found to inhibit creative initiatives. On a final note, one’s background, personal characteristics and values were found to play a role in the extent by which employee interpersonal relations impact individual creativity as is explored in this study.