ABSTRACT
The phenomenon of ‘‘flow’’ has captured the attention of a growing number of
researchers since Csikszentmihalyi introduced the concept in the mid 1970s
(Csikszentmihalyi, 1975). He interviewed artists, athletes, composers and scientists,
and asked them to describe the ‘‘optimal experiences’’ that made them feel good and
motivated as they were doing something that was worth doing for its own sake. He
coined this experience ‘‘flow’’ because many interviewees used this term sponta-
neously to explain what their optimal experience felt like (Csikszentmihalyi &
Csikszentmihalyi, 1988). Thus, flow is a condition in which people are so involved in
an activity that nothing else seems to matter at the time, and the experience is so
LONGITUDINAL RESEARCH IN OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY
enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost for the sheer sake of doing it
(Csikszentmihalyi, 1990).
