Creativity, well-being and leadership : evaluating inter-relationships in the workplace

Abstract

This study investigated the role of leadership in organizations and its influence on employee creativity and employee well-being. This research adopted mixed methods to undertake data collection and analysis, which is divided into two phases. The sample included eleven social workers from two different organizations within the healthcare field. Phase One comprised a quantitative method by utilizing a diary study in which data was collected on a daily basis for five consecutive working days. This quantitative tool revealed an overall low rate of successful implementation of creative ideas in the workplace. It showed how employee creativity and well-being is greatly affected by emotions and leadership style amongst other factors. A positive relationship between creativity and wellbeing at work was consistently exhibited during the first phase. Phase Two of this study involved a qualitative inquiry through three focus groups which were carried out with the same sample as Phase One. These focus groups provided further insight and understanding of quantitative data. The focus groups exposed interesting findings which affect the leader employee relationship. These include the organization's management, climate and culture, team members, nature of work, and personal characteristics. This study concluded that employee creativity and employee well-being are positively related. Moreover, when the leader adopts transformational leadership behaviours, employee creativity and well-being is further enhanced. It also recommended further analysis of other variables, such as management teams and team dynamics in the light of creativity and well-being and its impact on leadership.