By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
A recent survey showed creativity is what Korean employers look for most in a prospective employee, and a local think tank highlighted a CEO's creativity as critical in running a company. Originality is undoubtedly the new road to success, but there seems to be one major obstacle: working too hard.
``Being busy is the biggest enemy to becoming creative,'' said Seoul-based career coach Kim Sul-nam, who teaches working men and women how to draw out their inner creativity. ``Korean society, as we know, is one of the fastest-moving in the world, so that's already not a great start.''
According to 2008 data from the OECD, Koreans work the most number of hours ― nine hours a day in a five-day workweek ― among the 30 OECD countries. Japanese and Americans on average put in six hours and 50 minutes per day. While overworked, the data showed Koreans spend the least time on leisure and cultural activities.
``You can't expect someone to come up with the most clever and unique ideas, when he or she is tired to death,'' said Kim, stressing that the best ideas come ``when your mind and body are relaxed.''
A team of Dutch psychologists found in 2006 that people struggling to make complex decisions did best when they were not concentrating on the situation at all, which demonstrates that working around the clock isn't the smartest way to go.
History also proves this, as great scientists like Isaac Newton's discovery of gravity and Archimedes's principle of displacement both came upon them during times of relaxation.
Peter Drucker in his book, ``The Effective Executive,'' wrote, ``All one can think and do in a short time is to think what one already knows and to do as one has always done.''
Although this may be true, reality bites.
``Most workers barely get through the day, so taking time off to reflect and think of new ideas is almost impossible,'' said Kim, as he pointed out, however, that more firms like LG and SK are recognizing this factor and thinking of ways to provide a more creativity-stirring environment.
Globally, Google is recognized as the most successful creativity generating company, with its engineers allowed to spend up to 20 percent of their time on a project of their choice, which ultimately gives birth to new ideas.
Kim said the best ideas don't come when you're stuck behind a desk, as he exemplified his clients' experiences, in which inspiration came when riding a motorbike, in the bath, reading a book, or taking a walk.
``The idea is to take a step back to return stronger,'' he said. ``That's the golden rule employers and individuals should understand.''