Mirit Cohen, Global Workplace Experience Leader at Adobe, delivered an inspiring keynote on why designing for connection is essential to unlocking creativity in today’s workplace.
Mirit opened Epoch Connect 2025 with a compelling look at how connection drives creativity. With a background in psychology, culinary arts, and operations, she shared how thoughtful design can build trust, collaboration, and innovation. At Adobe, her work focuses on creating experiences that support belonging and well-being across hybrid and in-person teams.
As workplaces continue to shift in response to distributed work and rapid technological change, creativity is under pressure. Mirit pointed to data showing that only 35% of employees feel psychologically safe at work. Social isolation is also a growing issue, with major health consequences.
Creativity cannot thrive in these conditions. It requires connection, safety, and shared understanding among teammates.
Drawing on systems theory from psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Mirit outlined three key components of creativity: the individual, the domain of expertise, and the surrounding social environment.
She emphasized that creativity is not just a solitary act. It is influenced by the relationships and conditions around us. To bring this idea to life, she shared the example of “Sam,” an employee whose team worked in the same office but lacked a sense of connection. Sam did not need more tools. She needed more trust and a stronger sense of team.
To address the disconnection and lack of psychological safety that were limiting creativity and trust across teams, Mirit’s team created Gather, a structured experience that blends food, play, and conversation. The activity guides participants through four levels of questions, starting with light conversation and gradually deepening to more personal topics.
The experience is designed with psychological safety in mind. Teams are given autonomy to choose questions, and the structure helps people connect at their own pace.
Over 300 Adobe employees have participated. Many reported that they felt closer to their coworkers after a single session. One participant said they got to know a direct report better in one hour than in the previous three years.
One email, every month.
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