Looking at the head offices of a certain Sydney toy company, you might think it's a paradise for highly creative people  - bold colours, fun elements, lots of unique concepts. There's a giant beanstalk in the foyer, with a cabin for meetings where it reaches the first floor; a replica old-fashioned plane for more meetings/study. They're considered innovative and groundbreaking, and their toy concept is based on fun (obviously). The workplace they've created here reflects that, deliberately. 'Ordinary? No thanks. Expect the funexpected.' Their motto for their products is also the motto for their workplace:

'[We're] all about the Superhappy – the eyes wide, the screech and rip-it-open, the OMG I can’t believe it, the WOW!  This doesn’t stop with our groundbreaking toys, it’s lived and breathed every day in our offices.'i

And although it's a really nice concept for an organisation to take such pains to create an environment where their employees can be at their best - a great concept, in fact - I think this copmany has actually missed the point with these elements. This is my take on what I've seen about their Sydney HQ, based on what highly creative people really need. 

Effects of office environment and culture

First, does the office environment need to reflect what the toys are? It might seem an obvious connection, but I don't think it is. The creators of a product don't have to be working with an 'eyes-wide, ... screech and rip-it-open, ... WOW!' process in order to produce a concept that delivers those things. It would also be a very draining way to work. And if everyone's expected to show that spirit in order to prove that they're really creative and dedicated to the company's vision, what sort of situation is that going to create? Consider these quotes from their website about company values:

We keep our energy up so there’s a great buzz around the place all the time – helping to foster great ideas and ensuring strong productivity.

We’re a family who is Outrageously playful, with Wild imagination.

We know there is no ‘I’ in team and are committed to hitting team goals way out of the park.

And although they also say that 'we are non-judgmental, value diversity of thinking and the benefits this brings, and are open to all wow ideas,' that sentence begins with: 'We elicit infectious enthusiasm'. This contradicts the rest of the sentence. The message of their company values to me is clearly that their people are expected to have a certain approach and persona. 

While I love the really clear goals and values they've established, that they're all about living what they profess to do, these quotes concern me. What I feel is a pressure to be 'infectiously enthusiastic', in an outward, evident way; always on fire and performing so others can see your enthusiasm and playfulness; making sure you demonstrate, through your interactions and participation in company activities, that you're 'outrageously playful', and always being high-energy. It's exhausting just to think about! And while there are probably some who really do thrive in an environment like that, it means one of two things. 

Either the company's going to attract and keep only that sort of person (the kind who thrive in that environment) - always on show, high-energy, evidently playful, etc. - and that's going to reduce the range of creative output (because there's only that type of person working there), or they're going to have a team of people among whom are those trying desperately to keep up this appearance. They're going to be drained, creatively hampered (because they don't actually have the right conditions for creativity - see below - too much of their energy's going on this appearance, and they're trying to be creative in the way that's expected), and will likely burn out quickly. They might also feel like they're not as creative as they should be, even though they probably are, and might end up feeling very discouraged about their career potential. 

What creativity is and isn't, and what really drives it

One misconception is that creativity thrives in places with lots of people - 'collaboration' - and lots of visual stimuli. That we need stimuli constantly around in order to have creative ideas and be productive with them.

This isn't actually true. Creativity comes from input that the brain receives over time - little pieces, coming in little by little. Much of it isn't conscious. Our brains connect these pieces, and eventually, things click into place and we see something clearly or feel inspiration which illuminates these connections. It's a process which happens naturally; it's not forced, and it doesn't come from deliberately-placed stimuli. 

In fact, some of the most creative people have Highly Sensitive temperaments. Being aware of subtleties and processing them deeply means that we notice a lot, and gain many insights from how our systems process that information. Being highly aware is a key aspect of creativity. Here's what Scott Barry Kaufmann and Carolyn Gregoire have to say about it:

Dutch psychologist Matthijs Baas and colleagues investigated how four key mindfulness skills predict creativity. Of these, only observation 'was consistently linked with heightened creativity. Baas' team concludes... "To be creative, you need to have, or be trained in, the ability to carefully observe, notice, or attend to phenomena that pass your mind's eye"' (Wired to Create, ibid.).

This is why Highly Sensitive people are perfectly set up for heightened creativity. But that insight is coming all the time. It doesn't need - and is, in fact, harmed by - intense or constant stimuli. We are always aware, always noticing; what seems unremarkable to someone else is experienced quite differently by a High Sensory person. We're seeing potential and interest in things no one else does - but it's happening naturally.

​Here's another quotation from Wired to Create to explain:
​

So, coming back to the toy company: their visually stimulating environment, meant to enhance creativity, in fact misses the point in two ways:

1. Highly creative people are going to pick up inspiration from everywhere. Adding these 'wow' elements looks impressive, but is it really needed? It seems to me that it would, in fact, make the connections described above harder, because it's too 'loud' and busy, covering the actual thought process that leads to creative inspiration.

2. People who are this aware are taking in so much and processing it so deeply that they need less environmental stimuli, not more. If they're taking in from everyday life so much more than a less-responsive person, anything extra becomes potentially detrimental to their ability to process clearly. 

What highly creative people really need is the right environment to process all their incoming information - not information itself (which we've seen that they get anyway). So, what does the 'right environment' look like? I don't have all the answers to that, but here are some:

• Time and space for reflection. This usually requires nature, quiet, and alone time.
• Inspiration in the course of life. Good books, plays and other story forms, experiences as a human being, observation, music, interactions, etc. In a work context, this might mean working hours and formats which allow for a person to have enough of these experiences - time, location, salary, etc. 
• Flexibility and freedom to arrange one's work as it best suits them. One way that this is done is to determine an expected result and a due date, and then let them reach that in whatever way they need. Provide the resources they ask for, don't check up on them too much - and let those check-ins be encouraging and supporting, and give them the freedom to arrange their days and activities as they need to. This is an ideal - something for the truly creative/artistic-based business. But I think it's something that can be achieved by other organisations as well, if they're brave enough. 
• Trust. Managers/leadership teams need to trust their people - that they've chosen those with the right skills, and with a vision, guidelines, and the right resources, those people can produce what's needed. This does, of course, depend on (a) choosing the right people for the job, and (b) developing or having processes which allow for this approach. 

That's my take on the at-first-glance 'wow & amazing' Sydney HQ of this creative company. I hope it's given you some points for reflection about your ideas around creativity and what creative people need at work in order to.... be creative. 

If you'd like me to come and evaluate your workplace for elements such as these, with the perspective of a Highly Sensitive person, let's talk! You can send me a message here. I specialise in assessing the environment and processes in workplaces according to how well they support those with High Sensory Intelligence to thrive. You'll end up with targeted insights and guidance for creating the right conditions to get the most from their valuable gifts.

Often, what we see in Highly Sensitive people is the result of too much unhelpful stimulation - that state of being overwhelmed. But this is a really poor indicator of what High Sensitivity is. And the reason they get there is because they're living in a world set up for everyone who's non-Sensitive. So what, really, is this temperament? What are its gifts - and how do we recognise them and allow them to flourish? 

In this recording, I discuss the following:

- alternative terms for the Highly Sensitive temperament (*note: Willow MacIntosh - I couldn't think of his name at the time - is the champion of the term 'High Sensory Intelligence' mentioned here. He's the founder of a company called 'Inluminance', which works to help people with this temperament use their gifts in the world)
- misunderstandings about what sensitivity means
- what it actually means
- how the Sensitive temperament leads to unique gifts (an insight into the process)
- why it's in everyone's best interests to help Highly Sensitive people to thrive
- where the overstimulation that's often the most visible feature of the temperament comes from - and why this isn't what their 'sensitivity' is really about
- how to see past this: my goal
- benefits and reasons for reducing unhelpful stimulation for HS people at work

This recording was made using my computer's microphone, in the middle of summer, so there's fan noise in the background. I hope it's not too distracting - I think it is at first, and then you become used to it. As I don't have a dedicated podcast, I'm not focusing on recordings and don't have a separate microphone. For now, the message is the most important thing. I hope that message comes across, despite the imperfect nature of the recording.

There are two options for listening: the weblink below to the track on  SoundCloud, and a downloadable audio file.

sensitivity-a-gift-not-a-dirty-word

I also have a list of myths and facts about High Sensitivity, which you can view, and download, via the button below (no sign-up required - this is a direct link to the file).

You can save or print this, and use it for your own reference when working with Highly Sensitive people. You can also provide it to managers and other leaders when explaining the concept to them, as you work to get them on board for helping Highly Sensitive people thrive in your workplace.

(If you’ve heard any others not on this list, let me know – if they fit, I’ll add them)

Lighting

ARTIFICIAL & FLUORESCENTS
Natural light is best for us all, but HS people need it more than most. We really struggle with high levels of artificial light – especially fluorescents. The negative effects of fluorescent lighting have been revealed in various studies - although claims are a little controversial. Two main reasons are that:

(1) They emit only a small spectrum of light, in comparison to the full colour spectrum that the Sun does - at the blue end. 

(2) They tend to flicker, whether it's observable or not.

Thought.Co has an article which lists these negative effects and their cause. (Some of these aren't the sole cause of such results, but a contributing factor or found in the same situations as other more influential factors).
If these aren't of much concern, or you feel skeptical about them, consider the energy, lifespan and similar aspects, as explained here. As this article notes, anyone who has environmental sensitivities (the best known are those with light sensitivities and autism disorders) will be affected by the lighting in their workplace, and fluorescents are the worst offenders here. 
Remember that Highly Sensitive people respond more to everything - good and bad. Any change which is helpful to them will result in increased performance and wellbeing beyond that of others. 

BRIGHTNESS
HS people are also sensitive to bright light – so sitting near large windows, of the type in many high-rise office buildings, which lack blinds to reduce the glare and level of brightness, is unhelpful. 
​

​Plants

Introduce plants into the office space. If you have some, add more. Let HS team members take care of them – and even choose them. They’ll take all the variables into account, and will be consistent with their care. The plants don’t need to be expensive, and will give a good return for investment due to their positive effects.

• beneficial for everyone
• especially so for HS people

Break areas

Create outdoor break areas which are:
(a) away from busy roads,
(b) truly free of cigarette smoke (have a completely separate area for smokers, where the smoke doesn’t affect other break areas),
(c) quiet and peaceful (you might have one for those who want to chat and interact, and others for those who want downtime),
(d) with clean, relatively comfortable seating,  and
(e) ideally in a natural space, or at least with some garden areas (this means actual garden – visually attractive and varied, not lawn and a few low plants near a carpark). If your workplace is close to a park or two, bonus!

Do these sound like luxuries? Exposure to the natural environment - plants, quiet, nature sounds - is vital for us all, but especially so for those with High Sensory Intelligence. We take in so much through the day that our senses need space for rest and replenishment. Break areas which are truly a break from the office environment - including, where needed, from colleagues - will increase your High Sensory team members' effectiveness. 

These are a few inexpensive and not terribly difficult steps you can take to help make your workplace more HSP-friendly. You don't need to have a garden like the one above (it's part of the Roma Street Parklands, so I don't think any of us will measure up to it!) or the most modern outfitted office. Just do what you can - and remember, every step you take in this direction will lead to improved performance from your Highly Sensitive team members, with all they have to give. 

(The pop-up offer on this page will direct you to my beginning guide to Supporting Highly Sensitive people in the workplace. It's the information in this blog post, plus extra, in PDF form - so you can save, refer to, and share it as you need).

For more individualised and comprehensive recommendations - and an assessment of your workplace - talk to me about a bespoke consultation . 

We can look at this from two viewpoints.

The negative: if there's a group of people in your organisation who are being unduly harmed by conditions, it's the ethically correct thing to do to change those conditions. Highly Sensitive people can often be in this situation at work - unbenknownst to others, especially supervisors. Many conditions - in the physical/sensory environment and in processes and culture - which are considered normal in workplaces are actually harmful to people with this temperament. These halt their progression, cause undue stress, and prevent them from using their gifts for the greater good. If you become aware of the fact that this exists, which it does, then ethically, you need to do something about it. 

The positive: if there's a group of people in your organisation who have unique gifts, but whose potential isn't being fully utilised, both they and the organisation are suffering for that lack. That's a resource that's not being tapped, and a valuable one. Tap into it; nurture it; help it develop. Ethically, if there's a resource like this, and it's going to waste, then caring about employee wellbeing and organisational success means learning about it, making use of it, and improving it. Or else that resource should be going where that will happen. 

A thriving Highly Sensitive person at work brings benefits to the rest of the organisation. Better ideas, wiser decisions, greater awareness of dangers, problems and opportunities, improved communication, and more. 

How do you feel when you immerse yourself in nature for a time - a bush walk or beach visit - or just sit in your garden or the local park? Do you feel more calm and energetic at the same time? Do your problems seem less burdensome, and do you have more ideas about how to work at solving them? Do you feel less annoyed, less flustered, less worried about things which just before seemed so important?

These are some of the effects I feel from being in nature, and there's a lot of information available about how beneficial it is. The Queensland State Government recommends it for mental and physical health, while Health.com tells us that it lowers depression and stress, adds a burst of happiness, restores attention levels (focus), and increases our immunity. For a deeper dive, see this article from Positive Psychology.com . 

I've been thinking, the past week, about why we need nature - beyond the obvious reasons like food and air. I believe we need it because our bodies are part of nature. Our modern lives are fast and busy; even more so when compared to how people lived for all of human history until a couple of hundred years ago - even compared to 100 or 50 years ago. We buy food that is immediately available from shelves; travel in cars at fast speeds, which get us large distances quickly; find information quickly and easily; hear reports of many things happening in the world; speak on the phone or over the internet to people far away. 

Our bodies, though, are set to the rhythms of the natural world - the rising and setting of the sun; the weather; our years of life - and the fast and noisy pace at which we live works against those rhythms. Our sleep/wake cycle is triggered by light, and set to the time of an earth day and night. If you sit in a garden or nature park, you'll hear birds, cicadas in summer, and the sound of the breeze in the trees. You'll see that breeze move the leaves and branches, and regard the slow passing of the sun across the sky. You'll see clouds form and change, feel the air on your skin, and observe butterflies moving from plant to plant. Flowers open and close with the sun, plants grow through the days and change with the seasons; trees flower, and leaves dry and fall off. All of these are gradual, slow things, each happening in its time. Nature accomplishes what's needed deliberately and slowly, compared to our regular days. When we sit in nature, we remember that, and feel the peace that comes from regulating our bodies again with that slower, gentler, more deliberate pace.

Highly Sensitive people (also called Responsive and Highly Sensory Intelligent) bring a variety of gifts to their workplaces. Here is a list of just 10 sorely-needed things they do:

1. Focus and deep-thinking. Highly Sensitive people are able to focus and think deeply about an issue at hand.

2. Independent and intrinsically-motivated. They require little supervision - a boon for any employer or manager. This comes from a high degree of conscientiousness - a trait rated as 'the best personality predictor of performance' across jobs (Adam Grant).

3. Attention to subtleties. Responsiveness = awareness of nuances. People with this temperament see the details others miss, and place them in the larger picture, due to deeper processing. They're invaluable in making important decisions, seeing potential, and warning of pitfalls, among many other benefits.

4. Avoid office politics. You won't find them gossiping or taking sides - unless driven to it by poor leadership, with no other course of action available. Generally, though, they'll be the ones getting on with their work.

5. Able to 'read' emotions. With greater activation of the mirror neurons (involved in empathetic responses), as well as the insula and cingulate brain regions (consciousness and moment-to-moment awareness), those who are Highly Sensitive are more aware, alert and conscious in many situations, including those involving other people. This, added to their perception of subtleties, means they can read expressions, body language, and the emotional state of others quite accurately, and then respond accordingly.
As you can imagine, this is extremely valuable in any sort of personal interaction, especially with clients/customers (or students, with Highly Sensitive teachers) and in situations such as business negotiations.

6. See more than one side to an issue/situation. This is one reason why they don't get involved in office politics - a Responsive person sees more than one reason for an action, tries not to jump to conclusions, and can consider multiple viewpoints at the same time. From here, they can help others see these options. This makes them good peacemakers, counsellors/advisors, and considerate and reflective leaders.

7. Think creatively. Dutch psychologist Matthijs Baas and colleagues analysed mindfulness skills that predict creativity. Of these, only observation 'was consistently linked with heightened creativity' (Kaufmann and Gregoire, Wired to Create, p. 120). They concluded, "To be creative, you need to have, or be trained in, the ability to carefully observe, notice, or attend to phenomena that pass your mind's eye" (quoted in Kaufmann & Gregoire, ibid.). As we've seen, this is what Highly Sensitive people do all the time. They're made for creativity!

​As Kaufmann and Gregoire also wrote,
 
'Sensitive people often pick up on the little things in the environment that others miss, see patterns where others see randomness, and find meaning and metaphor in the minutiae of everyday life.... If we think of creativity as "joining the dots" in some way, then sensitive people experience a world in which there are both more dots and more opportunities for connection' between them. (p. 126)

8. Insightful and intuitive. Those with High Sensory Intelligence see the potential in situations and people. They use their insight and intuition when looking at problems and opportunities, and bring up aspects which need to be considered in ventures, projects, and processes.

9. Act with integrity. Now ideally, everyone acts with integrity. Practically, not all do - and it can be hard to know who will and who won't. You can rely on a Highly Sensitive colleague to, though. Things matter to them - details, meaning, purpose. Where they can agree with them, they will be committed to an organisation's mission and values - if not, they wouldn't be there (or they'll be seeking to leave).

10. Unlikely to take shortcuts. I've already mentioned their high degree of conscientiousness. It's very important to a Responsive person to do things well - to take care of the variables. If they do something, they'll want to do it thoroughly. But if there's insufficient time, or resources, allocated to a task to do it properly (perhaps through a false sense of efficiency), they'll become frustrated. Lesson: If you want something done thoroughly, give it to a Responsive person - with enough time, and access to the resources needed, to do it. If thoroughness doesn't matter so much, give the task to someone else.

Bonus benefit: This is one that is potentially very helpful right now. A thriving Highly Sensitive person can see further - beyond the immediate conditions - in a crisis. When others might be panicking or floundering, a HS person is able to be calm and sensible. The key here, though, is that they need to be heard and believed in these moments/periods. To make that possible, this already needs to be a fixture in an organisation - where the gifts of those with High Sensory Intelligence are recognised and used. If this isn't in place, then they won't be able to do their part in this way, with actual results for the organisation, when it matters.

And this goes for any of the benefits we've discussed here. If you want the golden egg, you need to nurture the goose. (To put it in a transactional way...). That's where I come in. I'll show you how to do this in your workplace - and help you discover who these people are. Your workplace will never be the same - in all the best ways.

There are a lot of things that go into any one genetic trait, so there are a huge number of factors which affect what High Sensitivity is and how it works. I want to share just a few that I think are easy to understand and really interesting.

1. Dopamine - this is your 'reward' chemical. You probably know that it affects motivation and feelings of accomplishment or reward. It also works with each person differently. A Highly Sensitive person is driven less by external rewards and more by internal rewards; so they will be more motivated to avoid certain situations, like loud parties or crowded places, and seek out others, like natural settings and calm environments. These are the things which allow them to process well and use their gifts positively, while those they're motivated to avoid are the things which depress their gifts and overwhelm their senses.

2. Mirror neurons - these are what help us to understand and be empathetic towards others. We observe people and compare our takings with our own experience. These neurons are more active in HS people, along with other areas that process social and emotional data. This means high levels of compassion and empathy, along with a lot of concern about and interest in others' wellbeing. It allows them to be insightful and caring about others' experience.

3. Emotional regulation - the vividness of a person's experience during emotional moments is increased in HS people, meaning they feel things more strongly/vividly than others in response to their environment. Now, we all feel things deeply/strongly at various times; this doesn't mean that HS people are the only ones to experience things deeply. What it does mean is that they experience them more vividly. They're having an immersive experience while someone else is having a pleasant time.

4. Awareness - Highly Sensitive people are more alert and conscious - more aware - in various situations, especially those involving others. In the brain, this can be seen as more activity in the cingulate and insula, which are responsible for consciousness and moment-to-moment awareness.

Information adapted from 4 Brain Differences of Highly Sensitive People

Responsive and Un-Responsive

In any workplace, you're likely to have two groups of people, speaking about temperament.

1. Responsive (also known as Highly Sensitive)
2. Un-Responsive (Non-Sensitive)

What does this mean? Responsive people are responsive to the inner (intrapersonal) and outer environment. This means that they:

• are aware of subtleties - they notice more in a situation
• process these subtleties (and everything else) more deeply

​
Un-Responsive people:

• notice less in a situation - are less aware of subtleties
• process what they notice less deeply

(When I use these terms, they don't have moral value - an 'Un-Responsive' person refers to biological elements in how they naturally respond to the environment. 'Non-Sensitive' is the same - it's the name used for their temperament).

Not less resilient

Due to the effects of these two factors, it can seem like those with a Responsive temperament are less resilient or more sensitive, in the negative way in which that term is taken, than those who are Un-Responsive. This is because they're more affected by seemingly the same things or situations. But they're actually having a different experience.

The result is that the Responsive group is seemingly more easily overwhelmed by apparently the same things - the same data. In fact, they're taking in more and processing it more deeply, meaning that they're experiencing more. This is energy-intensive, as you can imagine. It's draining. And that is why they are overwhelmed seemingly more easily. It's just that it's all happening within, so it's not visible to others.

Wider range

We could also say that Responsiveness means having a wider range. They are more positively and negatively affected by situations. So they will thrive in good environments and languish in the poor. Said another way, Responsive people do better than Non-Responsive people in a positive environment, and worse than them in a negative one.

Those who are Unresponsive are less affected, both positively and negatively, by their situation. This is why we could say that they have less range.

This is all part of the Responsive experience. You can see, I hope, the sorts of consequences of such a range. Perhaps you can see the possibilities - the potential in that for your organisation. I can!

More than that, though - beyond what you or your group can gain from helping them to thrive (so they can experience and produce more of the positive end of their range), how right and good it also is. How much they can bring, of this light and potential, to the rest! And because they are so responsive, the changes one needs to make to help them thrive at work, for example, don't need to be enormous or difficult. They will respond to the smallest differences, and the benefits for them and everyone will be exponential.

This is the exciting thing about the wider range of experience that Responsive people encompass. What possibilities there are!

Essential service
If we recognise that those in the Responsive group have an essential service to perform in our society, and provide the space for them to do what they do, they can provide those services as they're meant to. Without that space, everyone misses out on the best form of those services, and people with this temperament miss out on fulfilling their potential.

If organisations, governments, and individuals can recognise and celebrate what those in the Responsive group have to give, then

1. HS/Responsive people will have a much better experience, and
2. It will benefit both the larger society and the organisation/group of which they're a part.

* Citations:
We're Simply More Responsive for an overview of the research about the two traits of responsiveness and unresponsiveness (otherwise known as sensitive and non-sensitive). Easy read.
Vantage Sensitivity: Individual Differences in Response to Positive Experiences - research regarding differential susceptibility, which is what leads to this difference in range that I've described. Psychological journal article.
Also this journal article, about Differential Susceptibility to Environmental Differences.