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Organisations often have a '1950s notion' of curiosity, a workplace researcher says, but the trait is actually more important than ever for leaders and teams alike.

Broadly, curiosity is often associated with gossiping or "nosy kids", and in the workplace, some leaders worry curious employees are also easily distracted, says Global Curiosity Institute founder Stefaan Van Hooydonk.

He concedes that too much curiosity can make employees prone to distractibility, but not having enough curiosity should be leaders' bigger concern.

"From a psychological perspective, if you have no curiosity, you're closer to a state of depression, because depressed people are not curious, because they've got no triggers to be," he tells HR Daily...