Creativity at work is often framed as something important. But is the opportunity to actually be creative available to everyone?
Employees with more autonomy, seniority, or schedule flexibility may have greater room to step back, think laterally, and develop new ideas. By contrast, some experts say other workers—women, parents, caregivers, junior-level staff—may face tighter schedules, heavier workloads, and fewer chances to take part in creative problem-solving or brainstorming.
Fast Company talked to workplace experts who explained that, while time for unstructured thinking is great, it’s actually a privilege reserved for few people in an organization—and also what leaders can do to change that.
The workers who get left out
Workers who are higher up tend to have more control over their own schedules, and “often have more opportunities to step back, think strategically and explore new ideas,” says Fernanda Anzek, managing director at HR services platform Insperity in Houston. “Meanwhile, employees managing high-volume workloads or execution-focused responsibilities may have less time and fewer opportunities to do the same,” she adds.
Senior-level roles are often by nature built for more macro thinking and top-level strategy, which often demands creativity and an ability to think outside the box. But it creates an imbalance. To address this imbalance, organizations should prioritize broader access to creative exploration and implementation.
“Organizations that want to foster innovation need to recognize that creativity depends on both time and permission,” Anzek says. “If only certain employees have the space to think beyond day-to-day responsibilities, companies risk overlooking valuable ideas from the people closest to the work.
“The expectation for creativity and innovation should be clear across all roles,” she continues.
Earlier-career employees and those in execution-focused roles often spend much of the day responding to immediate priorities, she explains; meanwhile, parents and caregivers may also have less flexibility for informal brainstorming or after-hours collaboration. “These realities can limit opportunities for the uninterrupted thinking that often leads to innovation.”
Furthermore, for some women, parents and caregivers, the barrier isn’t imagination—it’s margin, according to Liz Holtzinger, a professor of communication, rhetoric, and leadership at Pennsylvania State University.
“When work pressures and home responsibilities tug in opposite directions, the low-risk move is usually to handle what’s immediately in front of you, not to spend the extra time, attention, and energy that original thinking often asks for,” Holtzinger says.
That’s why organizations need to be intentional and mindful creating opportunities for all types of workers—particularly “during the workday rather than relying on extra time or informal interactions,” Insperity’s Anzek explains.
Another factor that keeps creativity inaccessible to all is an aversion to risk.
“New ideas fail all the time, and plenty of workplaces don’t exactly hand out rewards for challenging how things have ‘always’ been done,” Holtzinger says. “So people make sensible choices based on the conditions they’re dealing with.
“Creativity isn’t only about generating ideas. It’s also about judgment, knowing when to press, when to adjust, and when a different method is worth the added effort,” she adds.
But in an era of constant layoffs and AI disruption, creativity isn’t as prioritized as much as simply staying afloat is.
How companies can address the problem
Organizations see stronger results when they make it clear that everyone has a role in identifying opportunities, solving problems, and improving how work gets done, Anzek says. It’s about seeking creative solutions from everyone—not just those privileged with enough time, permission, or resources to do so.
“Employees closest to the work often have valuable insights that can lead to meaningful improvements,” she says.
Leaders can help shift the dynamic. By seeking input, recognizing ideas from every-level staff, and encouraging employees to speak up, they make creativity an expectation for everyone, not just management.
“Creating a more innovative culture starts with making creativity part of everyone’s job,” Anzek adds. That means designing roles that include opportunities for problem-solving, managing workloads so employees have time to think beyond immediate tasks, and building flexibility where possible.
Employee engagement helps drive a company’s momentum and success, so encouraging creativity is an all-around win.
“Creativity doesn’t thrive when people are exhausted or overwhelmed,” says Jonathan Alpert, a psychotherapist and author based in New York and Washington, D.C. “It usually emerges when people have enough breathing room to think beyond the next task.” So give people room to think, he suggests. The remedy is asking for ideas at all levels of the organization—particularly folks working most closely on a given project, regardless of seniority.
“If people believe their ideas won’t be taken seriously, eventually they stop offering them,” Alpert says.
To that end, making people feel empowered is also key in democratizing creativity at work. If that environment is being fostered, workers should jump at the chance to be creative if they have permission to do so. In fact, a 2025 study in the journal Scientific Reports cites that when people trust their judgment, they are more likely to speak up, solve problems creatively, and move beyond executing others’ ideas.
“What many people are waiting for isn’t permission from a manager—it’s permission from themselves,” Penn State’s Holtzinger says. “They’re afraid of getting it wrong, looking foolish, or stepping outside the role they’ve been expected to play. That’s why self-trust matters.”
As a mental health professional, Alpert says people become much more engaged when they feel they’re helping shape something rather than simply carrying out instructions. “That’s good for morale, good for retention, and usually good for business, too,” he says.
“At the end of the day, most people want to feel useful, capable, and heard. Creativity is one of the ways we get there.”