ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to increase our understanding of the complex issue of the flow experience at work, outlines its antecedenrs and outcomes, and identifies some future directions for research. It analyses distinctive motivational component, through a brief historical overview of the development of the concept of intrinsic motivation. Flow experience positive and rewarding features, which include deep concentration, involvement, and enjoyable absorption in an activity, may shed light on at least one of the driving forces leading people to invest massive amounts of energies and resources in the work domain – namely, intrinsic motivation. Cognitive evaluation theory suggests that extrinsic rewards, particularly monetary, are perceived as being coercive and detracting from the individual's sense of control. Therefore, intrinsic motivation is inhibited by external rewards. Although many of the principles of humanistic psychology were untested at the time, its theoretical framework provided the impetus for the development of the notion of intrinsic motivation.
