Press Releases

Chancellor's push for creativity a welcome wake-up call in light of new research

Wednesday 25th May 2005

A new survey of British business leaders' attitudes towards the workplace and workforce indicates the true urgency of Gordon Brown's Budget call for a stronger focus on creativity to improve the competitiveness of British enterprise.

A new survey of British business leaders' attitudes towards the workplace and workforce indicates the true urgency of Gordon Brown's Budget call for a stronger focus on creativity to improve the competitiveness of British enterprise.

Startlingly, independent research by workplace transformation specialists Morgan Lovell shows that FDs and management teams of medium-to-large businesses in the UK rated 'helping to increase employee creativity' as their lowest priority when it comes to planning the working environment.

"We read and hear almost every day that creative thinking is the lifeblood of enterprise, sustained business improvement and thereby economic growth," says David Henderson, Managing Director, Morgan Lovell. "Business gurus are hot on the topic. The Government is rightly concerned about competition from abroad ? and creativity gives employers a competitive edge. We all need to think about the extent to which we are providing workplaces that are conducive to inspiration, not stress."

'Helping to minimise stress among employees' rated second from bottom in the list of FDs' office priorities. The CBI's most recent estimate is that stress-related absence from work costs British business ?12.6bn per year. And with a separate Morgan Lovell survey of British employees showing that half of office-based employees have considered taking time off because of the working environment and that only one in ten feels inspired by their workspace, the signs are that the workplace, stress and creativity are inextricably linked.

Creativity is a favourite theme of the Chancellor's, whose speech to the British Chambers of Commerce annual conference in London in April last year also called for Britain to "make the hard long term choices to build on Britain's scientific and creative genius." The Government has been focusing on ways in which the productivity of the British workforce can be improved following data it collated in 2003 that put the UK behind many of its competitors for output per worker.

Morgan Lovell's research also showed that over 70% of UK companies have taken no professional advice on maximising their productivity. In the UK, output per hour worked - the most commonly used measure of labour productivity - is almost 40 per cent below that in the United States.

Mr Henderson continued: "There is an opportunity waiting to be seized by British business to attract and nurture creative talent and thereby contribute to the Chancellor's goal of improved productivity. That opportunity lies in recognising the hugely positive role the workplace can play in fostering motivation and inspiration. Our findings are that, currently, there is a distinct split between those businesses that are acting on this and those that are perhaps unaware that simple, cost-effective measures to improve the actual place where we do our thinking and our working are there for the taking. We could be at risk of wasting the best and simplest chance to stimulate creativity in the workplace."

Getting the best results from technology was the top priority for companies when planning their office with 65% of companies questioned reporting that they had considered this when planning their current office.

Editor's note:

Morgan Lovell is the UK's leading provider of design, fit out and refurbishment solutions for the workplace. It is a member of construction brands group Morgan Sindall plc, which operates a national network of fit-out, regional construction, affordable housing and infrastructure services divisions.