Work Autonomy and Workplace Creativity: Moderating Role of Task Complexity

In the present global business environment, organizations need different approaches for overcoming the current demands and future challenges for which a creative workplace is a prerequisite. To understand workplace creativity in depth, we need to examine the interactions between personal and contextual characteristics as well as interactions among the contextual characteristics in an organization. Although researchers have attempted to understand the interactions between personal and contextual characteristics, enough attention has not been paid to the interactions among the contextual variables of employee creativity. In the present study, an attempt has been made to examine the interacting role of task complexity with work autonomy in contribution towards workplace creativity. The study has been carried out upon 304 information technology (IT) professionals working in different IT companies located in the Kochi and Trivandrum region of the state of Kerala. Findings reveal that the three dimensions of work autonomy, namely, work method autonomy, work schedule autonomy and work criteria autonomy have a direct positive contribution towards workplace creativity. Direct positive contribution towards workplace creativity is also exhibited by task complexity. As far as the moderating effect is concerned, task complexity is found to moderate significantly the relationships of work criteria as well as work schedule dimension of work autonomy with workplace creativity.