Ten years ago, Peter Nørgaard walked out of a stable job at an arts and crafts company based in Denmark. Shortly before him, a colleague, Lottes Littau, had done the same. Both had grown tired of battling against the mechanics of a company which jarred with their own principles of how to run a business.
Spurred into action by a conviction that success comes through a well-treated, stress-free workforce, the pair set up their own crafts firm, Creativ Company. Today, ten years after start-up, the company is living proof that respect, fairness and employee wellbeing not only make for more than just happy workers, but also translate into a healthy balance sheet.
Core to the company’s work ethos is the concept of a "dream factory" where employees' mental health is considered the most important factor in creating a financially sustainable organization. Anders Lindhardsen, the company’s sales director, explains that in practice this means providing a friendly working atmosphere, with warmth and team feeling, room for big thoughts, dreams, development and growth.
“We believe the job should fit the person,” Mr Lindhardsen says. “We create the job around the person’s qualities and abilities rather than force them into something they can’t do. It works in a business sense too—it’s not just about saving the world. By treating employees decently, they benefit, but so does the company, in terms of profit.”
Since its small beginnings, Creativ Company has grown to a workforce of 120 people, 15% of whom have special needs. It operates in seven European countries and has never made a loss. It has won a chain of awards, including an award in 2009 from the Danish Institute for Human Rights for “the company’s efforts to promote joy of working in the workplace”. Despite being based in a remote part of Denmark, Creativ Company receives on average 20 unsolicited applications for employment each month.
But can the Creativ concept be scaled up? The Belgian division of a multinational giant, Proctor & Gamble, is betting that it can. The company has been coaching line managers to organise non-judgmental sessions aimed at helping employees to talk openly about any stress-related concerns and to provide useful suggestions for coping. The scheme appears to have delivered positive results—a 2009 survey showed that employees now feel better about a range of workplace issues, and are also taking more initiatives to improve their personal health and wellbeing.
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