Unexpected Interruptions Can Boost Creativity

Schweisfurth: We discovered this when we looked at the online system the company used to collect plant workers’ ideas and suggestions. People could enter submissions whenever they were on-site. Some proposed small changes, like replacing worn tools; others, major ones, such as a new paint-ordering system that saved the firm €280,000 a year. The 8,500 employees in the part of the plant that shut down were sent home for four days. In the three weeks after they returned to work, they produced 58% more ideas than uninterrupted employees did. In addition, their ideas were higher quality: Managers rated the accepted submissions and determined that those from sidelined employees were roughly three percentage points better than those from other workers.