Even though hard-working employees are valuable for companies, achieving creative, strategic goals requires specific sacrifices from workers and may influence their mental and physical health.
Either working in a team or mostly individually, the staff members spend much time and put enormous efforts into reaching the firm’s objectives. However, it is believed that achieving a creative, strategic goal requires a pre-requisite sacrifice from each employee involved in the process, which can have specific adverse effects on their health. That is why leaders should take care of the staff’s wellness and ensure they do not suffer any negative consequences of hard and creative work (Percy, 2021).
First of all, it is essential to understand the concept and root of sacrifice (Pietersen, 2017). There is a great difference between an ordinary goal and a creative purpose as the latter “demands exceptional mental acuity” (Mills, 2019, para. 2). For example, in the former situation, an employee needs to choose the best course of action between several basic possible options. However, in the latter case, the staff should be as creative as possible in order to come up with an option that is somehow exceptional (Merchant, 2019).
Such actions may negatively affect employees’ mental or physical health as they require them to spend much time and energy and be as involved and devoted as possible (Appu and Sia, 2017). These are their sacrifices. Sometimes, it is crucial that leaders inspire their staff and promote creative and hard work in the name of creativity itself (Amabile and Khaire, 2008; Kremer, Villamor, and Aguinis, 2019). Additionally, stressful situations may either positively or negatively affect the teams’ performance and ability to generate innovative ideas (Helzer and Kim, 2019; Satyaningrum and Djastuti, 2020). At the same time, it is also essential for leaders to know when it is time to slow down the team to take care of their likely reduced mental and physical condition. This is also done in the name of creativity and innovation as they will be increased after employees restore their health and energy.
Reference List
Amabile, T. M. and Khaire, M. (2008) ‘Creativity and the role of the leader’, Harvard Business Review. Web.
Appu, A.V. and Sia, S. K. (2017) ‘Creativity at workplace: role of self-efficacy and harmonious passion’, International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management (IJHRDM), 17(3/4).
Helzer, E. G. and Kim, S. H. (2019) ‘Creativity for workplace well-being’, Academy of Management Perspectives, 33(2). Web.
Kremer, H., Villamor, I. and Aguinis, H. (2019) ‘Innovation leadership: best-practice recommendations for promoting employee creativity, voice, and knowledge sharing’, Business Horizons, 62(1), pp. 65-74.
Merchant, N. (2019) ‘Your employees have all the creativity you need. Let them prove it’, Harvard Business Review. Web.
Mills, J. (2019) Strategy means sacrifice: what are you willing to give up? Web.
Percy, S. (2021) ‘Four ways leaders can promote workplace wellbeing’, Forbes. Web.
Pietersen, W. (2017) Strategy is an art of sacrifice. Web.
Satyaningrum, D. I. and Djastuti, I. (2020) ‘Relationship between emotional labor, work stress, employee creativity, and turnover intention: study on Indonesian bank frontliners’, Diponegoro International Journal of Business, 3(1), pp. 1-16.