How is flow experienced and by whom? Testing flow among occupations

Abstract

The aims of this paper are to test (1) the factorial structure of the frequency of flow experience at work; (2) the flow analysis model in work settings by differentiating the frequency of flow and the frequency of its prerequisites; and (3) whether there are significant differences in the frequency of flow experience depending on the occupation. A retrospective study among 957 employees (474 tile workers and 483 secondary school teachers) using multigroup confirmatory factorial analyses and multiple analyses of variance suggested that on the basis of the flow analysis model in work settings, (1) the frequency of flow experience has a two-factor structure (enjoyment and absorption); (2) the frequency of flow experience at work is produced when both challenge and skills are high and balanced; and (3) secondary school teachers experience flow more frequently than tile workers.