Team Flow Among Firefighters: Associations with Collective Orientation, Teamwork-Related Stressors, and Resources

Abstract

Flow is often experienced under stress-related conditions and associated with improved performance and well-being. Different workplace stressors and resources demonstrably affect individual flow. Considering the team level, our study explores the associations between typical teamwork-related stressors and resources and team flow. Firefighters work under extremely challenging conditions and rely on functioning teamwork processes, thereby constituting a promising sample for examining team flow and its associated factors. An online questionnaire was implemented in Germany examining frequency of team flow, experienced teamwork-related stressors, and resources in firefighting missions. Collective orientation was also measured as a factor potentially associated with team flow. The final sample consisted of 317 experienced firefighters. Multiple regression analyses showed that the more often firefighters experienced stressors of teamwork (e.g., problems regarding leadership or lacking shared mental models) the less often they experienced team flow. Conversely, the experience of resources of teamwork (e.g., good communication and shared mental models) was associated with more frequent team flow. Collective orientation was positively associated with team flow. As team competencies are trainable, the study offers concrete approaches for interventions strengthening teamwork and team flow, thereby benefitting firefighters but also teams in other professions.

Founders’ flow: A qualitative study on the role of flow experience in early start-up stages

“…On the other hand, dependence on others was mentioned as a potential impeding factor for flow and team flow—particularly when the team members’ expectations and motivation did not match. This is in line with the findings of Aust et al, which show that a lack of shared mental models, i.e., shared assumptions about expectations and procedures within the team, can have a negative impact on team flow [ 50 ]. Similarly, participants reported that conflicts in the team may inhibit flow and team flow.…”

Development and validation of a questionnaire, the REST-Q Fire, to identify teamwork-related resources and stressors in firefighting operations

“…In an exploratory approach, it was found that the stressors regarding shared mental models, leadership, organization/coordination, and supportive behavior were significantly negatively associated with team flow. In contrast, for the resources, the subcategories communication, shared mental models, organization/coordination, and supportive behavior were significant positive predictors [52].…”

“…A study by Hagemann et al [51] investigated the relationship between risky decision-making, conflicting goals, the frequency of teamwork-related stressors in firefighting, and debriefing as a countermeasure. Moreover, Aust et al [52] studied the relation between teamwork-related stressors and resources and team flow. Their results will be summarized in the following.…”

“…Aust et al [52] showed that the frequent experience of teamwork-related stressors is associated with less frequent team flow, which can be described as "a shared experience of flow during the execution of interdependent personal tasks in the interest of the team, originating from an optimized team dynamic" [53, p. 28]. The more often team-relevant resources are experienced, the more often team flow occurs.…”

Longitudinal assessment of psychological distress and its determinants in a sample of firefighters based in Montreal, Canada

“…Thus, the dimension of mutual support within the group assumes key importance regarding exposure to task-related stressors. As Aust et al (2023) and colleagues highlight in their study on teamwork in firefighters, teamwork-related stressors (e.g., inadequate leadership) may be the psychosocial factor creating a shift in the individual appraisal of a mission that is perceived no longer as challenging but as stressful. The importance of social support for the psychological well-being of male firefighters also emerged in a study by O'Neill and Rothbard (2017) on the masculine organizational culture of firefighters, which determined that joviality and companionate love characterize the emotional culture of firefighting, a prototypically masculine one.…”