Concept of flow

Flow has been described as
"...a state you experience when you have the right skill level and the right amount of challenge. If one of these elements is missing, you'll either be anxious, bored or somewhere in between..."

Michelle Gibbings, 2023n

It can be described as 'feeling in your groove', ie you find work almost effortless.
"...the best moments in our lives are not passive, receptive, relaxing times......the best moments usually occur when a person's body or mind is stretched to its limit in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile..."

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi as quoted by Michelle Gibbings, 2023n

High performing workplaces have a concept of flow, ie

"...a mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing, characterised by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of activity..."

Mihaly Csikszentihalyi as quoted in Catherine Fox, 2006g

There are 8 components of the concept of flow, ie

i) clear goals (expectations and rules are discernible)

ii) concentrating and focusing: to a high degree of concentration on a limited field of attention (a person engaged in the activity will have the opportunity to focus and to delve deeply into it)

iii) a loss of self-consciousness: the merging of action and awareness

iv) a distorted sense of time ones subjective experience of time is altered

v) direct and immediate feedback (successes and failures in the course of the activity are apparent, so that behaviour can be adjusted as needed)

vi) balance between ability level and challenge (the activity is neither too easy nor too difficult)

vii) a sense of personal control over the situation or activity

viii) the activity is intrinsically rewarding, so there is an effortlessness of action..."

Catherine Fox, 2006g