Flow at Work: Evidence for an Upward Spiral of Personal and Organizational Resources*

Abstract

ABSTRACT. The present 2-wave study among 258 secondary school teachers investigates the relationship between personal and organizational resources on the one hand, and work-related flow on the other hand. On the basis of Hobfoll ' s (1988) conservation of resources theory, Bandura' social cognitive theory (1997; 2001), and Fredrickson's (1998) ''broaden-and-build'' theory of positive emotions, we formulated two hypotheses: (1) personal resources (i.e., self-efficacy beliefs) and organizational resources (including social support climate and clear goals) facilitate work-related flow (work absorption, work enjoyment, and intrinsic work motivation); and (2) work-related flow has a positive influence on personal and organizational resources. The results of a series of structural equation modeling analyses offer clear support for both hypotheses. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

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“…Our findings are consistent with previous research on flow (Bakker, 2005(Bakker, , 2008Salanova et al, 2006;Sosik et al, 1999) and are in line with a central proposition ofthe Job Demands-Resources Model (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007) and with the tbeoretical approaches formulated in the happy-productive worker thesis (Cropanzano & Wright, 2001) and the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions (Fredrickson, 2001). Accordingly, job resources, being extrinsic motivators, have motivating potential and contribute to performance through work-related flow .…”

“…Bakker (2005) found that music teachers' job resources were posidvely related to work-related flow and indirecdy contdbutcd to students' levels of flow while playing music. Similarly, Salanova, Bakker, and Llorens (2006) showed that teachers' organizadonal resources (including innovadon and goal orientadon) had a causal effect on work-related flow. In addidon, in their laboratory study, Sosik, Kahai, and Avolio (1999) found that flow mediated the effects of transformadonal leadership on creativity.…”

Efficacy beliefs predict collaborative practice among intensive care unit nurses

“…Moreover, engagement increased efficacy beliefs, which in turn increased task resources over time. Finally, in a two-wave study among teachers, Salanova, Bakker and Llorens (2006) found that efficacy beliefs have a reciprocal effect on social resources (i.e., organizational social climate) and well-being (i.e., flow). The latter studies point to the existence of a potential positive 'gain spiral' in which efficacy beliefs play an important role.…”

Flow at Work: a Self-Determination Perspective

“…General self-efficacy can be defined as "people's beliefs about their capabilities to produce designated levels of performance that exercise influence over events that affect their lives" (Bandura 1994, v.4, p. 71). Salanova et al (2006) investigated the link between self-efficacy and work-related flow over a time-period of eight months. They found that perceptions of self-efficacy were both predictors and outcomes of flow, suggesting that this personal resource has a reciprocal relationship with flow.…”

“…The WOLF shows satisfactory factorial validity in a range of studies carried out in various cultures and using various languages. More specifically, the three-factor structure of the WOLF was confirmed in The Netherlands (Bakker 2008; Van der Heijden and Bakker 2011;Peters et al 2014), Norway (Hofslett Kopperud and Vivoll Straume 2009), Spain (Salanova et al 2006), Italy (Zito et al 2015), South Africa (Geyser et al 2015), and Pakistan (Zubair and Kamal 2015). One study carried out in Australia (Happell et al 2015) found that the items representing the work enjoyment and intrinsic motivation dimensions of the WOLF loaded on one dimension.…”