Creative Stress

A few years ago a large Taiwanese technology designer and manufacturer decided to take work/life balance a little more seriously, and implemented a policy under which everyone, from engineers and mathematicians up to the CEO, had to leave work by 6pm. Within a couple months, the firm found itself hiring life coaches to help employees who didn’t know what to do with all this newfound free time, to the point that families were in danger of breaking apart because they didn’t know how how to be together for more time than before.

Stress can take interesting forms.

Even though you are not a therapist or counselor, you still need to recognize stress in your employees and help them deal with it. Why? Because as a leader you are not just working with people’s talents, you are working with people. Maybe you don’t see their physical and mental health as being your responsibility, but a reduction in stress can add to business value, and that IS your responsibility.

For many people in creative roles, there are stresses that are unique from what you see in bureaucrats or assembly line workers. Understanding the stresses of the creative life, which are often self-imposed, will help you see things better from your potential perspectives and also help you recognize warning signs of potential health and balance problems.

Perhaps the biggest thing you should watch for is perfectionism. For many Creatives their talent is a major focus point in their life, so getting their work right is essential to their self perception. This can lead to a lot of all-nighters, which are not healthy, as well as some unmet expectations; after all, perfection is pretty hard to achieve. From your perspective, it can also lead to missed deadlines as your Creatives try to make just one more fix…and then just one more…and one more. There’s a reason so many doctoral students never finish their dissertation, because they are trying to get it perfect rather than just getting it done. While we are not suggesting you encourage shoddy work, we would suggest you steer your Creatives away from the idea that perfection is essential. Acknowledge what is right about their work just as much as you offer suggestions for improvement. Encourage them to seek out feedback before deadlines so you can identify what looks good while still having time to make changes rather than bumping up against the clock. Realize that many of your Creatives are going to strive for perfection, and find a healthy way to channel that drive into getting a great product finished on time without working around the clock.

Another thing you might watch for is isolationism. Because a lot of creative work can be individual in nature, your Creatives might end up professionally and socially isolated from each other. Interaction with others is generally healthy, not only as a means for spotting problems but also just as a way to stay engaged in a larger community. It’s professionally healthy too, as Creatives tend to benefit from exposure to new ideas and different perspectives. While the team at Designing Leaders are not fans of “mandatory fun,” we do think it’s a good idea for your Creatives to talk to each other, even if (or especially when) their work is different.

Many Creatives feel the need to always be designing something new, so a case of “writer’s block” (or their field’s equivalent) can be especially stressful. For some Creatives, a momentary inability to envision something new spirals into “my career is over.” Remind your Creatives there are two important styles of creativity: evolution as well as revolution. Improvements upon existing concepts can be just as useful developing an entirely new concepts. Sometimes it’s ok to design a better cupholder for the car than it is to design a hover car with no wheels. Einstein didn’t develop a new theory every day, and your Creatives don’t need to be that prolific either.

We all have stress in our jobs, but for many Creatives, that stress comes from inside rather than from a boss. That’s because your Creatives tend to be a very internally motivated bunch, and while that drive can lead them to produce some great new ideas, it can also burn them out, or worse. Realize that your Creatives bring enough stress to the job with them, and remember that you don’t need to add to it if you can help it. Do what you can to reduce that stress so they can be more productive, and learn to recognize the signs of when your folks may be having problems.