Two studies examined the relationship between the experience of flow at work and indicators of satisfaction, engagement and psychological well-being. Data were collected from 211 journalists working in Norway and 224 staff nurses working in Turkish hospitals using anonymously completed questionnaires. This emphasis on flow was consistent with emerging trends in both psychology and organizational studies, termed positive psychology or Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS), respectively, to focus on strengths and excellence rather than dissatisfaction and pathology. Hierarchical regression analyses, controlling both personal demographic and work situation characteristics, indicated that flow accounted for significant increments in explained variance on most work outcome measures. Journalists indicating higher levels of flow also reported more enjoyment of work, positive effect and feelings of efficacy; nurses reporting higher levels of flow also indicated three more efficacies, vigor, dedication, absorption and higher self-rated job performance. Levels of flow however were unrelated to absenteeism and to most measures of psychological well-being in the journalist sample and to psychological well-being in the nursing sample. Explanations for the association of flow with favorable outcomes are offered along with potentially practical implications.

The fields of psychology and management have begun to devote more of their research attention to the positive side of individual well-being and the experiences of work and working as these contribute to well-being (Bakker et al., 2008). Myers (2000) observed that the focus in psychology on negative states was 14 times greater than the focus on positive states.

An emphasis on negative experiences and outcomes is consistent with several decades of work in the field of psychology with emphasis on pathology and illness (Peterson and Seligman, 2003), and the past 40 years in the fields of organizational behavior and management with emphasis on dissatisfaction, withdrawal behaviors and alienation in the workplace (Cameron, 2003). Recent developments in these fields, however, have fostered a different emphasis; an emphasis on human flourishing and individual strengths represented by the beginnings of positive psychology (Fredrickson, 1998 and 2003a; and Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi, 2000) and "what is right" in organizations represented by Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS) (Cameron et al., 2003) and positive organizational behavior (Luthans, 2002). Most of this work has been carried out in North America. POS focuses on positive outcomes such as flow, resilience, meaning, engagement, thriving and excellence—the best of human and work conditions.

This research considers the experience of flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). Flow can be experienced in a wide range of activities, work being only one of them. He also uses the term optimal experience to refer to times when individuals feel in control of their actins and masters of their own destinies. Optimal experiences commonly result from hard work and meeting challenges head on. Individuals make optimal experiences happen and organizations can provide the context for these optimal experiences. Csikszentmihalyi (1997) identified eight conditions associated with individual reports of experiencing flow, namely clear goals and immediate feedback on progress, challenging but doable tasks, deep concentration, living in the present moment, feelings of control, being absorbed in the task so that one's sense of time changes, and submerging one's ego in the task. Unfortunately flow doesn't happen very often on one's job (Csikszentmihalyi, 2003). Most jobs do not provide the conditions associated with flow listed above.

Soft Skills Journal, Globalization, Flow, Work Satisfaction, Psychological Well-Being, Personal Demographic Characteristics, Work Situation Characteristics, Organizational Behavior, Work Engagement, Intrinsic Motivation, Job Performance, Work Involvement.