According to Cliff Kuang in an article at Fast Company, the answer is YES!
In an academic study using MBA students, those who had lived outside of their home country performed better on a test of creativity than those who had not expatriated. The author concludes that a business wanting to hire people with a higher level of creativity should simply ask whether they have ever lived abroad.
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According to the article, those who had lived abroad for longer solved the problems more quickly, but simply traveling abroad didn’t have any benefit. The researchers hypothesized that “living abroad and adapting to cross-cultural challenges flexes your mind in ways that can be readily applied to other real-world situations.”
Read the entire article here.
Do you think living abroad has enchanced youre creativity? And in what ways?
Kama says
April 29, 2009 at 6:46 amThat’s a great question…..there is no doubt that living in various countries does change your way of thinking. I would say generally that those who live abroad are more adaptable to change because it becomes necessary. If you travel with an open mind and awareness then you are witness to many new experiences which could possibly expand your creative thinking?
Megan Fitzgearld says
May 5, 2009 at 2:58 pmI would say most definitely – its one of the reasons why I love living abroad. We are constantly challenged to come up with new ways of solving problems and getting things done. For the voracious learner (like myself), living and working abroad is a wonderful adventure!
Megan