New Voices Paper 7
Contemporary and Future Work Demands Creative Agency
Panu Forsman, University of Jyväskylä
Abstract
Creativity is hailed as the solution to problems in a changing world. It is seen as a critical factor in achieving economic success and growth, so significant efforts are made to promote it. However, creativity is also a challenge. The nature of creativity leads to changes in our surroundings, making established practices and skills less effective. As a result, the demands for learning, development, and coping are increasing. Addressing these sustainably within the current paradigms is challenging. The traditional learning approaches and routine expertise cannot sustain the contemporary work and world. Instead, we need active, self-directed, and engaging employees with adaptive expertise built on the reflexivity of creative agency. Creative agency entails a simple conceptualisation of creativity. While embracing the standard criteria of novelty and appropriateness, a continuum is recognised from individual primary creativity to social secondary creativity. Creativity transcends concrete manifestations and, with creative thinking as a critical attribute, enables individuals to navigate complex work environments effectively. In essence, allowing the perception of situations from a curious mindset of diverse perspectives and viewpoints. This allows imagining what might or could be, forming a future perspective with different possibilities fuelled by the ideas, interpretations, and insights from everyday interactions developing our thinking. In conclusion, fostering creative agency is essential. We need to prepare future employees with skills agreeing with the simple conceptualisations of creativity, helping them see differently and recognise the possibilities. Equipping individuals with adaptive expertise is necessary for thriving in the complex reality of work and contemporary life.
Details
- Session: New Voices 2
- Scheduled: Tuesday 9th, 10:30 – 12:00
- Room: 2S5
