Creative Individuals And Job Satisfaction

Creative Individuals And Job Satisfaction
Although creativity is a new buzzword for desirable in the business world, the creative traits that are desired by many employers are not the same as the traits displayed by many creative personalities. Employers and organizations, who are looking for creative personalities, are generally looking for people who will use creative thinking towards any end the company picks. In short, these work environments measure creativity by the results produced. This demand, placed by these organizations and employers, is in direct opposition to the actual needs of the creative personality. Sigmund Koch discovered that highly creative people are frequently blocked when they need to produce on demand. This example helps to demonstrate the difference between the creativity sought by organizations and the actual needs and abilities of the creative person.

Each personality type feels more supported and successful in certain types of work environments. A person with a creative personality type faces specific challenges due to the fact that truly creative ways of thinking and being have been marginalized by our culture. This intrinsic misunderstanding of the creative personality within our culture, which shows itself at many levels of thinking from common thought to academic thought, leaves the needs of creative personality subject to the same treatment.

Because of this marginalization, being a creative thinking person and pursuing a career path frequently means having experiences such as communication challenges or misunderstanding about one's work style. If a creative individual chooses to step outside of the mainstream work world and does not have money and connections, it often means they meet with frustration or, even, failure. Even if a creative person is successful in his or her pursuits, this success is accompanied by feelings of failure because the creative individual's standards and values are not reflected by the world around him or her.



It is the substantial minority of creative people, who say they have been supported towards their career objectives or that they can easily find a work environment that is supportive of their needs and welcoming of their contributions. Most often, creative people report that they feel they do not fit anywhere and that most of their skills are useless. Because of this, success as a creative personality is frequently a struggle become less rather than more of who they are. Many creative individuals can benefit from outside help. Career counselors and well-trained personal coaches can be instrumental in reversing this experience.

Starting points for career success:

Creative individuals are most likely to succeed in:

Environments that provide flexibility in methods and hours.

Environments that presents unique challenges and growth opportunities.

Environments that allows for independent thinking and plan execution.

Work that has personal meaning or purpose.

Environments that provide regular feedback.

Environments that offers broad goals and adequate information.

Creative individuals are most likely going to be dissatisfied by environments that demand:

Long unproductive meetings.

Work for work sake.

Micro-managing employers.

Clock punching.

Repetitive tasks.

Creative individuals are most likely to attain maximum career satisfaction and success through learning how to:

Improve their ability to plan and complete tasks.

Improve their ability to communicate their ideas and plans for execution.

Develop their ability to do less creative tasks.

Find environments that use their skills.

Acknowledge their strengths.

Find teams that have complimentary skills that help them overcome weaknesses.

If an individual chooses a creative career path, it is frequently not an easy path. And for some, it is not a choice; it is the essence of who they are. The creative personality has unique needs and abilities that need to be carefully assessed and worked with. These unique needs and abilities are the result of their seemingly paradoxical personality. Helping practitioner working with people with creative personalities will likely be more effective when they acknowledge the special life, education, and career experiences of this population, help them find supportive work environments, and provide them with feedback and resources that will help them develop necessary, but perhaps not naturally strong, skills. Creative individuals, who are suffering from career difficulties, may benefit from a specialist, who can help them navigate the challenges of creating a satisfying career.


creativity, job satisfaction, career, success, psychological needs of creative person
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