Creativity, although subjective in its definition, can generically be considered as the use of original ideas and imagination in the creation of things. It is a trait that has become exceedingly important in today’s age. When addressing the significance of creativity in his TED talk, Sir Ken Robinson, a creativity expert, told the audience that creativity was as essential as literacy and deserved to be regarded with the same status. In the Singapore context, however, many Singaporeans do not possess the trait. According to the Global Innovation Index 2016, several citizens had underperformed in areas of creative outputs such as creative industry exports and domestic trademarks application. This is an issue that needs to be addressed as the lack of creativity amongst Singaporeans can affect the country on a national scale. Although there are several effects of lacking creativity in Singapore, the three main ones include unemployment, reduced social cohesiveness and the weakening of its creative industry.
The lack of creativity in Singapore could lead to the unemployment of many Singaporeans. This is firstly because workers who are not imaginative cannot come up with unique ideas that will benefit the firm. Consequently, employers will be unimpressed by their performance during discussions and may opt to replace them with workers who have more effective proposals. The lack of creativity will also lead to unemployment because workers who are rigid in their thinking cannot deal with transitions effectively. For example, when a new technological device is introduced to the office, workers who are not accustomed to thinking flexibly will have trouble operating it. This may consequently lead to misuse. In the worst of cases, the worker may accidentally damage the machine or lose data that is essential to the company. When the boss is alerted to the mishap, that employee may lose his job. Apart from this, the lack of creativity will lead to unemployment because it could result in the reduced competitiveness of Singapore’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). When the boss of an SME is used to old production methods and traditional means of operations, the company may fail to cater to the new and ever-changing tastes of its target group. This will lead to a reduction in the company’s profits. In the long run, such firms may need to start retrenching workers as they are unable to make ends meet. Many Singaporeans may lose their jobs as a result. Therefore, in view of these factors, the lack of creativity will lead to the unemployment of locals. It also signals the need for Singapore’s education system to train its citizens to think creatively from a young age. If locals do not learn to think imaginatively as students, they will face significant difficulty in cultivating the skill years later.
The lack of creativity among Singaporeans may reduce social cohesion in the country. Social cohesion can be defined as the extent in which the people within a social system can identify with and support it, especially in its beliefs, values and norms. The reduced social cohesiveness from lacking creativity is due to the fact that people who are creative are more open-minded, which helps them to see things from a perspective that is different from their own. This leads to improved empathy and understanding of where the other is coming from. Consequently, people who possess creativity are less likely to sound out their judgement and offend others, resulting in better relationships. With the majority of Singaporeans being accepting of people of different races, religions and even political views, discrimination and prejudice towards minority groups will be a thing of the past. However, the lack of creativity and open-mindedness among Singaporeans could mean that racial discrimination will remain a prevalent problem. Therefore, the lack of creativity may lead to weak social ties between Singaporeans, especially among those that have opposing views. This is an issue of concern for the country as unhappiness between the various religious and ethnic groups could lead to religious extremism and race riots respectively.
The lack of creativity could lead to the weakening of Singapore’s creative industry, which includes the fields of arts, design and media. This is due to the fact that the overall lack of creativity in the country could signal to the young generation that the creative sector is unimportant in Singapore. This may consequently spur the notion that a future in the arts is impractical and cannot support one financially in the future. Parents who bear that mentality could also emphasise on an education in Mathematics and Science for their children rather than in the arts, design or media. As a result, the new generation of Singaporeans will not have background in these fields, causing them to be unable to contribute significantly to the country’s creative industry. Those who have expertise in the arts, such as music, dance and visual art may move abroad to countries with a more vibrant arts culture. Therefore, the lack of creativity in Singapore could lead to the weakening of its creative sector. The effects of a weakened creative industry on Singapore’s economy could be large-scale, as the country’s design sector had contributed SGD$2.13 billion to its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employed 30 000 people.
In conclusion, the lack of creativity in Singapore could lead to higher unemployment rates, reduced social cohesiveness and lowered quality of its creative industry. Although the Singapore government has been making a concerted effort to boost Singapore’s creative industry, it is the role of every citizen to train themselves to think creatively. According to Maya Angelou, an acclaimed American poet and author, one cannot use up creativity. The more creativity a person uses, the more he or she will have. Therefore, to prevent the effects of lacking creativity from occurring in Singapore, Singaporeans must consistently learn to activate their imagination and question old ideas. In this manner, Singapore will be a nation filled with creative thinkers, which will result in social, economic and cultural gains.
