PhD defence W. (Wei) Liu

Summary:

Flow at work is an optimal state that greatly improves employee well-being and job performance. However, little is known about how flow functions at a within-person level, especially at an episodic level (e.g., from moment to moment). The overarching aims of the current dissertation were to: (1) examine whether strengths use and playful work design would be associated with work-related flow at the within-person level; (2) test a theoretically relevant range of subjective and objective performance outcomes (risk-taking behavior, attentional performance, and creative performance) during episodes immediately following flow; (3) investigate for whom flow is more likely to occur. By conducting a meta-analysis and a series of empirical studies using the experience sampling method, we investigated the episodic and daily relationships between flow and its antecedents as well as outcomes. We found that employees could use self-determination strategies such as strengths use and playful work design to facilitate their flow experiences. At the same time, people need to be aware of that flow may have both favorable (e.g., creativity) and unfavorable effects (e.g., risk-taking behavior, worse attention) for the subsequent performance. The current study suggests that people had better rest and recover after a focused work period.