Magdalena Abakanowicz at The Tate Modern. How will our workspace look like?
Humans are dreamers. I believe humans are good by nature, we dream, we hope. When thinking of the future we imagine utopian settings. We imagine a world that is connected to nature, we imagine inclusivity, we imagine flexibility, we imagine a world with technology as a tool that will allow us to have more freedom. Humans have been able to achieve amazing things throughout history.
I had many conversations with students from different ages, backgrounds, ethnicities, and cultures. Almost everyone I spoke to had utopian dreams of how the future will look like.
Cheyenne imagined a physical space that was more connected to nature. Nicole imagined a space that was non – existent, where everyone could create their own hours and their own space, collaborating when necessary but working individually when not. Diego speculated an inclusive workplace, where gender and race was always considered. When I speculate, I think of a place where you are not an “architect” or a “graphic designer” or an “engineer”, but a place where you can roam into many professions and they can all collide. I see the future of work where we are all entrepreneurs and freelancers, we control our time, and we choose how much time we want or don’t want to work. You are responsible for your own wellbeing, your own time. We would not need governments to “protect us” or companies to have “friendly policies” for their employees.
It’s important to also be realistic and consider the challenges that come with making these dreams a reality. We must recognize that not everyone has the privilege to dream and that there are many obstacles that stand in the way of progress. It is essential that we work towards creating a world where everyone has the opportunity to dream, and where we can use our creativity and innovation to build a better future for all. While some people dream of a future with no schedules that can pursue multiple professions, others might want job security of getting a pay check every month. It is important to remember that all perspectives are valid and that there is no one size-fits-all solution.
Voyage to the edge of imagination at the Science Museum. How Movies have inspired the future.
I asked my daughter (16), who wants to be a musical theatre performer, how she visualizes the future of work, “I hope it is exactly as it is now.” She went to see ABBA the voyage this week, at one point in the show the microphone tumbles, for a minute she thought it would fall and then realized it was not real. What is going to happen to performers if they can’t perform anymore?
Poster from Abba the Voyage. Show with holograms.
I hope we learn to utilize technology as a tool and not something that controls us. It is something we should all strive to do, while also being mindful of the limitations and challenges that we face.
How can household, caregiving and romantic responsibilities between men and women become more balanced in future generations?
Women have been key to raising children and maintaining the family unit over time. Even keeping alive the romanticism in the marriage. Either by choice or by social pressure. It has been expected of them. Men have taken a role of leadership in business, politics, even the arts, in just about every craft.
The increasing role of women in professional life has not been matched by an increasing involvement by men in the home. Therefore many women have ended up with a “double burden” or have had to sacrifice part of their professional life.
Why is progress so slow in the family unit?
In a survey of 160 people, 140 women and 20 men, I discovered women contribute to 50% of the family income, but continue to do 70% of the household, administrative and upbringing chores. In this group only 28% wanted a change and surprisingly 72% didn’t want to rock the boat.
Sheryl Sandberg in her book “Lean in” confirms this is representative of a larger audience. “If we want to see a shift in the workplace we need to make a change at home.” (Sandberg, 2013)
What did I do?
I asked 4 couples to make a To Do list of weekly family responsibilities , women responded with over 20 items, men all had 4 or less.
Created a survey as mentioned above. Responses from 11 women that filled the survey were of new found awareness.” I had not realised all I did “,”This survey is making me reevaluate”, “I think I need to renegotiate”. Someone even called me to tell me she had gone on a date with her husband for the first time in a few years, inspired by the romantic questions in the Survey.
Next steps that could be taken.
This is a topic that wants to be avoided, it makes couples uncomfortable, it creates tension. We need to work on it through positive strategies instead of pointing fingers. I feel that collaboration and teamwork is what seems to be lacking at home. This is the first thing I feel is necessary to tackle.
Make couples aware. Through surveys, exercises, communication.
Educate through workshops for couples with role playing/games.
Create a card game for the family that could be color coded- one color per category. Every member of the family can pick a weekly card and do the activity from the card. Every week you choose a different color.
Understand that men and women do things differently and no way is better than the other. (How you change the diaper is not better than how your spouse does it)
Expect more, ask for more, don’t expect it to be like your parents or grandparents.
We still have a lot of stride to cover, but we can definitely tackle it from a positive perspective. We cannot change the past, but with tools and education we can try to change the future.
Research
Caroline Criado Perez. Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men. S.L., Harry N Abrams, 2020.
Germano, Maggie. “Women Are Working More than Ever, but They Still Take on Most Household Responsibilities.” Forbes, www.forbes.com/sites/maggiegermano/2019/03/27/women-are-working-more-than-ever-but-they-still-take-on-most-household-responsibilities/?sh=5a3592752e9e. Accessed 16 Feb. 2023.
Meers, Sharon, and Joanna Strober. Getting to 50/50. Simon and Schuster, 10 Sept. 2013.
Perel, Esther. Mating in Captivity : Reconciling the Erotic + the Domestic. New York, Harpercollins, 2006.
This book was eye opening for me. This is why. I grew up in a male dominated household. My dear father taught his three daughters to study, be entrepreneurs, think for themselves, always put in your best effort and most importantly do everything you can for your community. He taught us this by example.
He also taught us (by example), that our brother had more privileges than us (he also had more responsibilities), that my mother had to be home before he arrived from his job, that she had to take care of him, that he was in charge. And although he treated her with much love he also let her quit her career when they got married because now her “new career” was being a wife and eventually a mother. This made me grow up with a duality I did not understand. I must admit I had a “chip on my shoulder” with masculinity. I had these great male mentors that inspired and pushed me to be my best self, but only until marriage. I always thought this was because I came from Latin America, that we assume tends to be more male chauvinistic, or because I was brought up in another time.
My father was my “go to” person to ask for any work advice, when I had my first review, or when I decided to leave my stable job to start a Design boutique and than I got married. I was debating whether to take a full time job or try to “make it” as an artist and called him for advice and he said – “Maybe your new job is being a wife”. This was the last time I asked for advice, also the day I realized his view of me had changed. I went from being and individual with dreams to being a wife, apparently the worst position you could have, since it seemed it was the moment you lost your identity and your individuality.
Today I have realised that it was not the “time” or where I came from that makes this be this way. It is how the world runs. And apparently I have it better than most women. After speaking to women from different cultures and different parts of the world I see this now. I am “lucky”. I went to Japan around 20 years ago on a trip with my husband, he had to go for work and we had won a free ticket so I went with him. One night while he was having dinner with the men of the company, the CEO sent the only two women that worked in the company to keep me company. They were the receptionist and the CFO, we went out several nights and since they wanted to practice their Spanish we became friendly quickly. I was curious about their culture and asked many questions, as they did to me. They were in their mid 30s, both married and both had decided to not have kids. They said that in Japan once you have kids it is not proper to work. They would be outcasted by their family and friends. I always thought that again these were specific cultures, more traditional cultures, all the world could not be like this. Life has taught me the contrary.
This book, Invisible Women (Criado Perez, 2019) shows us how not only societies are biased but the data that was collected to create laws is completely biased towards male behavior and male bodies. Making everyday things a disadvantage for women. And even scarier, the data collected today continues to be so. “Smartphones are ostensibly designed to be used with just one hand. but whose hand?” (Criado Perez, 2019) As Criado Perez explains in the book, this is the same with pianos, she asks why there are more renowned pianists in the world, maybe because the piano keyboard was designed for the average male hand. This repeats itself in many everyday objects. Women are also left out of medical trials. “According to a 2017 EU study, women’s bodies are seen as too complex and costly with hormones that make them inconvenient subjects”, (Criado Perez, 2019) this affects women’s health. The book states that medicine tested on these trials are often too strong for a female body and often causes additional side effects that may harm them. In politics women are also underrepresented. “Currently, only 13 countries have a female head of state and 15 have a woman head of government, according to UN Women, a U.N. agency. Women hold only 21% of ministerial positions across the world.” (Nikkei Asia, n.d.). Politicians make policies, less women are politicians, so will men have the initiative to change the policies that collect data, when they have never done so in the past? As Carolina Criado says in Invisible Women: ” we are conditioned to view the male gender as the default and ignore or erase female experience” (Criado Perez, 2019). Now, what are we going to do about it?
Criado Perez, C. (2019). Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men. S.L.: Vintage.
Nikkei Asia. (n.d.). Jacinda Ardern did ‘have it all’ as New Zealand’s prime minister. [online] Available at: https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/Jacinda-Ardern-did-have-it-all-as-New-Zealand-s-prime-minister [Accessed 1 Feb. 2023].
Twenty five years ago in New York city I was invited by a friend to an “improv” class. On a Monday night we walked over to Tribeca, went into a large room on the 10th floor of an old building. In the class was Ralph Buckley, producer of Broadway’s Next Hit Musical, and our teacher for the night. Architects, lawyers, accountants, actors, graphic designers, and writers spent the next two and a half hours playing games. Games that seemed unstructured and free flowing but that had clear methodology beneath the surface. Games that gave us the freedom to laugh, to make mistakes, to help each other. We were learning through games to be better team players, to collaborate, to create “something from nothing,” all while laughing our heads off. We all left that night on a definite high, filled with joy and feeling more creative than ever.
Improvisation is to make or create something by using whatever is available as defined by Britannica (Dictionary, 2022) “Improvising invites us to lighten up and look around. It offers alternatives to the controlling way many of us try to lead our lives. It requires that we say yes and be helpful rather than argumentative: it offers us a chance to do things differently.” says Patricia Ryan Madson (professor emeritus at Stanford U.) in her book Improv Wisdom: Don’t Prepare, Just show up (Patricia Ryan Madson, 2005). We improvise every day when we choose our clothes, decide what to make for dinner, choose what song to play, what route to take.
I am a firm believer in this technique primarily because of the “Yes and …” principle that guides improvisation. It’s a game where the most important rule is saying “yes”, and it’s an activity that fosters flexibility and adaptability. It is based on a method in which mistakes, ingenuity, creativity and silliness are welcome. Improvisation leads to developing skills valuable in teamwork, brainstorming, and problem solving. Dr. Madson also says that improvisation is a form of play that in turn enhances creativity. She shows you how to introduce it into your everyday life, enhancing your creativity and most importantly, your joy.
Mental or creative blocks are a frequent struggle for all professions. Improvisation seems to be an antidote to mental blocks, as it is almost their opposite. Dr. Madson says “Blocking comes in many forms: it is a way of trying to control the situation instead of accepting it. We block when we say NO, when we have a better idea, when we change the subject, when we correct the speaker, when we fail to listen. Or when we simply ignore the situation. The critic in us wakes up and runs the show. Saying NO is the most common way to control the future.” (Patricia Ryan Madson, 2010)
But more generally, improvisation is a form of play. Play is “something we do voluntarily, that engages us, and it’s fun regardless of the outcome” (Hoehn, 2014). But why is it important to play?
Play is how creativity theory is put into practice; how the creative muscles in our brain are exercised. According to studies by Dr Stuart Brown humans need play to survive. He has studied animals and humans for over 50 years and has come to the conclusion that play is necessary for our survival. How can we play when we need to work, do chores, be parents, etc? “Play is purposeless, all-consuming, and fun,” says Hoehn, who says we need to introduce play into our everyday lives just like we brush our teeth. (Hoehn, 2014) Brown believes play in childhood and as adults is in direct relationship with being happier and more productive, but is also a biological drive as integral to our health as sleep or nutrition. “Play is essential to develop social skills and adult problem-solving skills” (Brown and Vaughan, 2009).
Do you remember when you went to a record store and listened to different records and explored sections of the store until you chose an artist, took it home and listened to it? Exploring new styles, new artists, or new music is a form of play. Being curious and explorative in your music selection, being creative is a form of play. However, today we mostly enter Spotify and let it choose a “playlist” for us, all based on our previous actions. This is helpful and an appealing service, but it eliminates the curiosity, the exploration and the creativity out of the process.
I don’t advocate for abandoning our current lifestyles or the use of digital apps, but we could pause and reflect on how we are being distracted by technology and absorbed by the pace of everyday life. We should consider the benefits of finding time for ourselves and for our wellbeing. Dr. Stuart Brown MD believes that despite the challenges in life we should find the time to play in order to maintain our health and wellbeing. “It energizes us and enlivens us. It eases our burdens. It renews our natural sense of optimism and opens us up to new possibilities.” (Brown and Vaughan, 2009)
It is possible that the structure and planning in the education system has emphasized right and wrong too much. Mistakes are not rewarded but punished. In addition, the use of electronics by young children has limited their capacity to play. Being constantly connected to a device from childhood to old age may be leading to the decline in creativity, joy and well-being. Improvisation teaches you to make mistakes and make the best of them, because you are not alone, your team members (family, friends, colleagues) will say YES to your mistakes and make the best of ANY idea. We are all working together.
Picasso said: “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up”.
Is it possible our constant engagement with digital devices is suctioning our time and taking our focus away from the present? Our behaviors have radically changed in the last 2 decades and it seems like no one nowadays has the “opportunity” to be idle or bored. Play is believed to require time and mindfulness, but Kyung Hee Kim, professor at William and Mary’s college believes that smartphones have left no time to think in depth, or to explore, thereby causing a decline in play (Kim, 2011). As quoted in an article from PT, Kim says in her study: “children have become less emotionally expressive, less energetic, less talkative and verbally expressive, less humorous, less imaginative, less unconventional, less lively and passionate, less perceptive, less apt to connect seemingly irrelevant things, less synthesizing, and less likely to see things from a different angle.” (Gray PhD, 2012). Stuart Brown, a researcher in the effect of Play also holds a similar position (Brown and Vaughan, 2009).
Previous generations possibly had less gadgets to entertain them, faced boredom more frequently and therefore had more time to play when they were young. Furthermore, today’s children and teenagers are so focused on being academically successful, on learning to read sooner, or so hooked to the games of their tablet that they have no free or idle time for play.
Kyung Hee Kim (Kim, 2011) has conducted research on this topic using the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) (Baer, 2017) suggests that creativity scores have gone down since 1990.This is a test developed by Terrence Torrance (often called the father of creativity) which consists of measuring creativity through fluency, flexibility, elaboration and originality. Her research is based on over 270,000 individuals of all ages taking the same test over a period of 40 years, starting in 1966 and ending in 2008. The results showed an increase in IQ scores, but a decrease in creativity.
It is my belief that improvisation is a technique that can be taught and used to introduce play into our daily lives. A kind of “Creativity Gym,” where people can go and recover or develop creativity and the ability to play. A course in which play and creativity become not only ways to capture the imagination and attention of others, but also a means for self-expression and for bringing joy into everyday life. A course that encourages each of us to bring our uniqueness to the surface, to become better problem-solvers and team players. A course that celebrates “A-ha” moments, from a creative burst, which can provide unforgettable “highs” that are even more rewarding than the satisfaction from a job well done.
My challenge is to persuade and train adults (and occasionally children) who believe creativity (and play) is not for them. To convince my audience that people aren’t necessarily “born” creative, or not. That the brain is not set in its ways and, instead, it continues to change and connect through time, like a muscle that benefits from exercise.
Improvisation training can begin with simple exercises, like taking a different route to work each day or trying to brush your teeth with your non-dominant hand. It can also be not making a detailed plan for dinner but rather seeing what you create with what is already in the refrigerator. Nevertheless, the potential is huge and impactful, and for those willing to pursue it, there’s more to be learned. I believe it’s time to see mistakes as opportunities, and to bring our creative fountains back to life via play.
Reference list
Baer, J. (2017). Torrance Test – an overview | ScienceDirect Topics. [online] www.sciencedirect.com. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/torrance-test.
Brown, S.L. and Vaughan, C.C. (2009). Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul. New York: Avery.
Dictionary, B. (2022). Improvise Definition & Meaning | Britannica Dictionary. [online] www.britannica.com. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/improvise.
Eichler, K.L. and Spragge, A.M. (2021). The Big Book of Improv Games. Independently Published.
Franken, R.E. (1998). Human motivation : Robert E. Franken. Pacific Grove: Brooks/Cole.
Gray PhD, P. (2012). As Children’s Freedom Has Declined, So Has Their Creativity. [online] Psychology Today. Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/freedom-learn/201209/children-s-freedom-has-declined-so-has-their-creativity.
Hoehn, C. (2014). Play it away : a workaholic’s cure for anxiety. United States: Charlie Hoehn.
Hopkins, R. (2018). Kyung Hee Kim on ‘The Creativity Crisis’. [online] Rob Hopkins. Available at: https://www.robhopkins.net/2018/09/20/kyung-hee-kim-on-the-creativity-crisis/.
Inc, G. (2022). World Unhappier, More Stressed Out Than Ever. [online] Gallup.com. Available at: https://news.gallup.com/poll/394025/world-unhappier-stressed-ever.aspx.
Kim, K.H. (2011). The Creativity Crisis: The Decrease in Creative Thinking Scores on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. Creativity Research Journal, 23(4), pp.285–295. doi:10.1080/10400419.2011.627805.
Patricia Ryan Madson (2005). Improv wisdom : don’t prepare, just show up. New York: Bell Tower, Cop.
Patricia Ryan Madson (2010). Improv Wisdom. Harmony.
Stillman, J. (2021). Research Suggests We’re All Getting Less Creative and Scientists Think They Know Why. [online] Inc.com. Available at: https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/creativity-crisis-torrance-test.html.
www.youtube.com. (n.d.). Creativity Panel: Dr. Kyung Hee Kim, Creativity and Innovation. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXWIJ-F8vco [Accessed 10 Nov. 2022].
