The Influence of Family Relationships on Creativity in the Workplace

Abstract

The article is rooted in the thesis that good family relationships foster creative behaviour in those responsible for the management of an organization. An underlying assumption of the study is that creativity is vital in any leadership role or managerial position requiring interaction with groups of people. Furthermore, it is assumed that creative energy is susceptible to various impediments, a risk potentially causing both personal loss and loss to the organization with which the administrator is associated. Creativity for the purposes of this study is considered the capacity to find and solve problems in innovative ways in order to achieve personal and organizational benefits. It describes four statistical methods for the examination of conditions salient to creativity, specifically relating to people in administrative positions. A sample of 300 Polish managers in various settings was used. The sample was divided by means of Popek’s CBQ into high and low creativity groups. These two groups were examined by way of the 8 factors found in the PAFS Questionnaire adapted by Fajkowska. Analysis of data showed that high creativity was unlikely to be found where poor relationships in the family existed. The study suggests that past and present family dynamics can determine whether or not individuals function creatively in the workplace.