flow experiences at work. high achievers

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Journal of Organizational Behavior

J. Organiz. Behav. 26, 755775 (2005)

Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/job.337

Flow experiences at work: for highneed achievers alone?

ROBERT EISENBERGER1

*, JASON R. JONES1

,

FLORENCE STINGLHAMBER2, LINDA SHANOCK3

AND AMANDA T. RANDALL4

1University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, U.S.A.2Hautes Etudes Commerciales Liege, Belgium3University at Albany, State University of New York, U.S.A.4Towers Perrin, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.

Summary Applying Csikszentmihalyis (1990) flow theory of optimal experience to the workplace, twostudies examined the relationships of employees perceived skill and challenge at work andneed for achievement with their positive mood, intrinsic task interest, and extra-role perfor-mance. Among achievement-oriented employees only, high skill and challenge was associatedwith greater positive mood, task interest, and performance than other skill/challenge combi-nations. Additionally, positive mood mediated the interactive relationship of skill/challengeand need for achievement with performance. Copyright # 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Introduction

Human potential approaches to work emphasize the contributions of self-actualization, challenge, and

growth opportunities to job satisfaction and motivation (Alderfer, 1969; Herzberg, 1966; Maslow,

1965). Elaborating these accounts, Hackman and Oldham (1976) specified task characteristics of jobs

that might enhance motivation, including the opportunities to use a variety of skills and produce a com-

plete piece of work, knowledge that ones activities have an impact on the lives of others, choice in

determining how to carry out ones work, and performance feedback. Numerous studies have found

positive relationships of task characteristics with beneficial outcomes such as job satisfaction, good

health, and performance (e.g., Campion & McClelland, 1991; Fried & Ferris, 1987; Gerhart, 1987;

Loher, Noe, Moeller, & Fitzgerald, 1985; Schaubroeck, Jones, & Xie, 2001; Steel & Rentsch, 1997;

Tiegs, Tetrick, & Fried, 1992). For example, using a longitudinal design, Griffin (1991) found signifi-cant increases in bank tellers performance 24 and 48 months following a job redesign intervention

aimed at improving employees perceptions of Hackman and Oldhams (1976) task characteristics.

Received 11 May 2004Revised 19 November 2004

Copyright# 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Accepted 28 April 2005

* Correspondence to: Robert Eisenberger, Psychology Department, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, U.S.A.E-mail: [email protected]


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Skill utilization, involving equivalence between the challenge of ones work and the ability to meet

that challenge, has been suggested as an additional task characteristic that might contribute to job

satisfaction and motivation (Gavin & Axlerod, 1977; OBrien & Dowling, 1980; OBrien, 1983).

Accordingly, OBrien (1983) found that skill utilization accounted for a significant portion of the var-

iance in job satisfaction beyond the job characteristics enumerated by Hackman and Oldham (1976).

Csikszentmihalyis flow theory of optimal experience similarly holds that an individuals satisfactionand motivation depend on the match between his or her skill and the challenge inherent in the task

(Csikszentmihalyi, 1975, 1990; Csikszentmihalyi & Rathunde, 1993). However, Csikszentmihalyi

emphasizes the intrinsically rewarding and satisfying subjective state, termed flow, which results from

the combination of high perceived skill and high perceived challenge.

According to Csikszentmihalyi (1990, p. 4), the flow experience is a condition in which people are

so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter at the time; the experience is so enjoyable

that people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it. Flow experiences are suggested

to be intrinsically rewarding because they allow one to become fully involved in a task and stretch his

or her skills and abilities to the limit (Csikszentmihalyi & Rathunde, 1993). Csikszentmihalyi (1999)

assumed that in addition to increasing intrinsic task interest, the repeated experience of flow in a given

context would have a pervasive incremental effect on positive mood. Consequently, a job, hobby, or

sports activity that repeatedly provided high but manageable challenges would come to have a majorinfluence on positive mood.

In contrast to the beneficial outcomes of the combination of high skill and challenge, other combina-

tions of skill and challenge are suggested by Csikszentmihalyi to produce less favorable experiences.

Activities in which the individuals skill is perceived to be high relative to the challenge provided by

the task would lead to boredom. Low-perceived skill and high-perceived challenge would produce anxi-

ety, while low-perceived skill and low-perceived challenge would result in apathy. Typical studies based

on the flow experience assess the prediction that perceived high skill and high challenge produces a more

favorable subjective experience than other combinations of skill and challenge. Among key findings is

that high skill and challenge was associated with greater positive mood (e.g., Csikszentmihalyi &

LeFevre, 1989; Csikszentmihalyi, Rathunde, & Whalen, 1993) and task interest (e.g., Catley & Duda,

1997; Csikszentmihalyi & Larson, 1986) than other skill-challenge combinations.

Csikszentmihalyis theory provides one of the most widely cited explanations for pleasurable

absorption in leisure and sports activities. The association between enjoyable subjective experience

and high skill and challenge has been found in a variety of non-employment settings, such as schooling

(Carli, Delle Fave, Massimini, & Carli, 1988; Clarke & Haworth, 1994; Moneta & Csikszentmihalyi,

1996), computing (Chen, Wigand, & Nilan, 1999; Trevino & Webster, 1992; Webster, Trevino, &

Ryan, 1993), family interaction (Rathunde, 1988), leisure (Csikszentmihalyi & LeFevre, 1989; Graef,

Csikszentmihalyi, & McManama Gianinno, 1983; Mannell, Zuzanek, & Larson, 1988), occupational

therapy (Emerson, 1998; Jacobs, 1994), and competitive and recreational sports (Catley & Duda, 1997;

Jackson, 1992; Jackson & Roberts, 1992; Kowal & Fortier, 1999; Stein, Kimiecik, Daniels, & Jackson,

1995). However, flow in work settings has received little attention.

The opportunity to perform challenging tasks skillfully might have benefits for employees and their

organizations. Csikszentmihalyi and Rathunde (1993, p. 73) suggested that intrinsic task interest fol-lows from the realization that one is growing in complexity as a result of matching ones skills to dif-

ficult challenges. In other words, engagement in high skill and challenge promotes task interest

because it allows one to hone ones skills. Employees should take an increased interest in challenging,

yet manageable activities because they provide: a sense of achievement, the opportunity to sharpen

ones skills, and a favorable subjective experience (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). In addition to

increasing task interest, the combination of high skill and challenge at work might promote positive

mood. George and Brief (1992, p. 320) suggested that the successful completion of work activities

756 R. EISENBERGER ET AL.

Copyright# 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Organiz. Behav. 26, 755775 (2005)


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demonstrating competence, worth, or achievement, would enhance positive mood. Similarly, Isen,

Daubman, and Nowicki (1987) maintained that perceptions of competence and self-worth would

increase positive mood.

In one of the few studies involving flow at work, Csikszentmihalyi and LeFevre (1989) reported that

the combination of high skill and challenge occurred three times more often during work than leisure

(see also Haworth & Hill, 1992), and was associated with greater positive mood than other combina-tions of skill and challenge. Csikszentmihalyi and LeFevres (1989) initial findings highlight jobs as a

major source of flow for adults and raise basic issues, examined in the present studies, concerning the

affective and motivational consequences of different combinations of skill and challenge at work.

Need for Achievement and Flow

Csikszentmihalyi and LeFevre (1989) found marked individual differences among employees in the

extent to which high skill and challenge was preferred to other combinations of skill and challenge at

work. Approximately half of the employees in the sample expressed greater motivation for work inwhich they had high skill and faced high challenge rather than low skill and low challenge. The other

half of the sample, in contrast, reported greater motivation under conditions of low skill and low chal-

lenge. Perhaps dispositional differences among employees account for these findings.

Csikszentmihalyi (Csikszentmihalyi & Csikszentmihalyi, 1988; Csikszentmihalyi & Rathunde,

1993) and Adlai-Gail (1994) suggested that some individuals might have an autotelic personality,

which would lead them to be especially active in seeking out challenging tasks for which they perceive

themselves highly skillful. In addition, such individuals would work hard to create their own

challenges in mundane tasks. However, theory and research have yet to clearly identify the character-

istics of the autotelic personality or its relationship with high skill and challenge. In one such attempt,

Csikszentmihalyi et al. (1993) found that talented teenage students who scored high on a constellation

of personality characteristics involving achievement, endurance, inquisitiveness, and aestheticism

(Jackson, 1984) reported experiencing high skill and challenge a greater proportion of the time over

the course of a week than their low scoring counterparts. However, Csikszentmihalyi et al. (1993) did

not isolate the relative contributions of these personality characteristics. Nor did they consider how

personality might influence the degree to which high skill and challenge is associated with an elevated

subjective experience relative to other skill-challenge combinations.

Need for achievement might explain some of the individual differences in motivation for high skill

and challenge versus other skill-challenge combinations, as found by Csikszentmihalyi and LeFevre

(1989). According to Atkinson (1964) and McClelland (1961, 1987), persons with a high need for

achievement base their self-regard on the successful development and utilization of talents and skills.

Fineman (1977, p. 2) described achievement-oriented individuals as striving to do well, desiring to

fully utilize ones capacities to succeed and to be judged by oneself and others on this success.

McClelland, Atkinson, Clark, and Lowell (1953) associated the achievement need with a desire to sur-pass personal standards of excellence.

The combination of high perceived skill and challenge at work may often meet the achievement-

oriented employees desires to surpass personal standards of excellence. Moreover, as suggested by

Csikszentmihalyi (1990), high skill and challenge allows one to perform at the limits of ones capa-

cities and hone ones skills, conditions that achievement-oriented individuals desire (Csikszentmihalyi

& Rathunde, 1993; Fineman, 1977). Thus, achievement-oriented individuals should experience

enhanced interest and elevated positive mood in work activities that provide high skill and challenge.

HIGH SKILL AND CHALLENGE 757



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Achievement-oriented employees should find other skill-challenge combinations less inviting:

low-skill/high-challenge should produce a low probability of success (deCharms & Carpenter,

1968; Hamilton, 1974; Karabenick & Youssef, 1968; Raynor & Entin, 1982; Trope, 1975; Trope &

Brickman, 1975), and low challenge paired with low or high skill should fail to provide exacting stan-

dards of excellence.

In contrast to achievement-oriented employees, employees having a low need for achievementshould be less interested in activities that provide high skill and challenge at work. Individuals low

in need for achievement experience greater anxiety in achievement settings and try to avoid compe-

tence assessment (Atkinson, 1974; Trope, 1975). Employees with a low achievement need may thus

find the combination of high skill and challenge less satisfying than would achievement-oriented

employees, resulting in lesser degrees of positive mood and task interest.

Hypothesis 1: High perceived task skill and challenge will be more strongly associated with positive

mood and task interest among employees having a high need for achievement than among employ-

ees having a low need for achievement.

Need for Achievement, Mood, and Organizational Spontaneity

Over the last decade, organizational researchers have become increasingly interested in the influence

of employees positive mood on organizational outcomes. Positive mood has been found to be asso-

ciated with employees increased extra-role performance (Eisenberger, Armeli, Rexwinkel, Lynch, &

Rhoades, 2001; George & Brief, 1992). George and Brief suggest that positive mood primes employ-

ees to think about favorable characteristics of co-workers, leading to helping behavior. They also argue

that positive mood should promote creative thinking, leading to creative suggestions. Consistent with

these views, Eisenberger et al. (2001) found that positive mood enhanced a variety of extra-role activ-

ities, including helping co-workers and making creative suggestions.

Extra-role behaviors that are performed voluntarily and aid the organization, termed organizationalspontaneity (George & Brief, 1992), include making constructive suggestions, enhancing ones own

knowledge and skills in ways that will help the organization, protecting the organization from potential

problems, and helping co-workers. Employees who experience the combination of high skill and chal-

lenge at work might go beyond specified job responsibilities to contribute to organizational success as

a result of the enhanced positive mood produced by high skill and challenge on the job.

As previously noted, the relationship of high skill and challenge with positive mood should be espe-

cially strong for employees high in need for achievement because the skillful performance of difficult

tasks allows those employees to meet and surpass personal standards of excellence. Consequently,

positive mood might mediate the interactive influence of skill/challenge and achievement orientation

on organizational spontaneity.

Hypothesis 2: High perceived skill and challenge will be most strongly associated with organiza-tional spontaneity among achievement-oriented employees, as mediated by positive mood.

The hypothesized relationships between all variables are summarized in Figure 1.

Csikszentmihalyi has suggested several methods for assessing skill and challenge. To increase the

generality of our findings, we used different methods in our two studies. In the first study, we compared

each employees perceived skill and challenge in his or her major work activities with the median

levels of skill and challenge experienced by co-workers (cf. Csikszentmihalyi & Rathunde, 1993).




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The second study took into account the possibility raised by Csikszentmihalyi (1990) that the experi-

ence of flow in a given activity may be influenced by the levels of skill and challenge experienced in

their other activities. This view supposes that people may compare their skill and challenge in a given

domain, such as work, to their overall experience of skill and challenge in daily life (Csikszentmihalyi

& LeFevre, 1989; Massimini & Carli, 1988). Consequently, if an employee rated his skill and chal-

lenge on the job as higher than the average skill and challenge experienced in all their daily activities

(e.g., socializing with friends and family, cooking, reading), he would be predicted to experience flow

at work. Therefore, the second study compared each employees skill and challenge at work with his or

her overall skill and challenge.

Study 1

The first study examined the relationship of employees experience of skill/challenge with positive

mood and organizational spontaneity, as moderated by need for achievement. Additionally, the study

investigated whether positive mood would mediate the interactive relationship of skill/challenge and

need for achievement with organizational spontaneity.

Organizational Context

Skill/

Challenge

Positive

Mood

Task

Interest

Org

SpontaneityNeed For

Achievement

Need For

Achievement

Figure 1. Model of hypothesized relationships in Studies 1 and 2Note: The proposed relationship of skill/challenge with positive mood and organizational spontaneity, as

moderated by need for achievement was assessed in Study 1. The moderating influence of need for achievement inthe relationship between skill/challenge and intrinsic interest was examined in Study 2.

The participating organization was a large discount electronics and appliance retailer located in the

northeastern United States. Prices on most items were set to promote sales volume over profit per

item sold. The data from Study 1 came from an employee questionnaire administered in 1996, while

the data for Study 2 came from a questionnaire given to a different set of employees within the same

organization in 1999. The organizations emphasis on growth in number of outlets suffered a




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Method

Sample and procedure

The sample consisted of 392 employees working at eight sites. Three hundred and sixty-five employ-

ees (93%) returned completed questionnaires. The employees voluntarily completed the survey during

their regularly scheduled working hours in conference rooms at each site. To encourage candidness, we

gave employees verbal and written assurances that their individual responses would not be revealed.

Surveys were distributed and collected by the researchers in sealed envelopes. Supervisors completed

performance evaluations for each employee and were given similar assurances of confidentiality.

Evaluations were available for 335 of the 365 respondents (92%).

Measures

TenureWe controlled for employee tenure, obtained from company records, which might be associated both

with greater perceived skills and familiarity with supervisors, leading to higher performance ratings.

Skill and challenge

Employees were asked to list the five work activities on which they spend the most time during their

average day at work. Employees then rated the degrees of skill they had in each activity and the chal-

lenge posed by the activity on nine-point Likert-type scales (1 low, 9 high). The specific items

setback during this interval when business declined, expansion plans were put on hold, and the num-

ber of employees was substantially reduced. However, in the year before the second survey, busi-

ness had begun to increase again.

We sampled sales employees as well as sales support employees. Sales employees were paid on

the basis of a combination of salary and commission, whereas support employees were paid entirely

on the basis of salary. Within these two types of jobs, employees differed substantially in the tasks

they were required to carry out. Some salespeople were assigned to more challenging areas of the

stores containing electronics products for which technological advances were introduced frequently

(e.g., computers and televisions). In this environment, salespeople needed to continually upgrade

their knowledge and skills in order to effectively operate and present the favorable features to cus-

tomers. Other salespeople were assigned to less challenging store areas containing products in

which the required technological understanding was more easily mastered, and changes in required

knowledge occurred slowly (e.g., refrigerators and stoves).

Similarly, challenge levels differed considerably among sales support staff. Book keepers, for

instance, found themselves in a challenging environment as they were required to keep track of

a large, rapidly changing inventory, and high cash flow. As another example, in order to answer

queries by customers, cashiers were expected to keep current with the latest layout of merchandise.Other sales support employees were in charge of making deliveries from the central warehouse to

the stores along well-established routes, a less challenging endeavor. The company was often under-

staffed, resulting in wide variation in skill levels for the jobs to which employees were assigned.

Thus, the four possible combinations of low- or high-employee skill with low- or high-task chal-

lenge, needed to assess flow theory, were well represented in the organization.




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used to assess skill and challenge were What is your skill in the activity? and How challenging is

the activity? respectively. The five ratings of skill and challenge were averaged for each employee in

order to create an overall job skill and challenge level for the employee. Following the between-

persons approach described in the Introduction, each employees overall job skill and overall job

challenge at work was compared to the median levels of skill and challenge for all employees

(Csikszentmihalyi & Rathunde, 1993). Then, the employee was placed in one of the following contextson the basis of Csikszentmihalyis (1990) theory:

1. Flow context: Employees skill and challenge were both above the group median skill and challenge

levels.

2. Anxiety context: Employees skill was below the median group skill level; employees challenge

was above the median group challenge level.

3. Boredom context: Employees skill was above the median group skill level; employees challenge

was below the median group challenge level.

4. Apathy context: Employees skill and challenge were both below the group median skill and chal-

lenge levels.

Need for achievement

Need for achievement was assessed by four of the five items from the need for achievement sub-

scale of Steers and Braunsteins (1976) Manifest Needs Questionnaire, plus five items constructed

by the research team (see Table 1). We developed these items based upon the characteristics of

individuals high in achievement orientation as outlined by McClelland (1961, 1987), such as

working to improve ones skills and desiring frequent feedback. We added items because although

the need for achievement sub-scale has shown acceptable internal reliabilities in some studies

(Mannheim, Baruch, & Tal, 1997; Orpen, 1985), it has fallen slightly below the 0.70 criteria

suggested by Nunnally (1967) in other studies (e.g., Schaubroeck, Ganster, & Jones, 1998; Slade

& Rush, 1991; Turban & Keon, 1993). We omitted the Steers and Braunstein (1976) item I try to

perform better than my co-workers from the measure because it appeared to apply more to a

tendency to be competitive than to the core attributes of the need for achievement. Respondents

rated their agreement with each statement using a seven-point Likert-type scale (1 strongly

disagree, 7 strongly agree).

Table 1. Study 1: Factor loadings for need for achievement items

Statement Factor loading

1. I am pleased when I can take on added job responsibilities.a 0.782. I am always looking for opportunities to improve my skills on the job. 0.773. I like to set challenging goals for myself on the job. 0.634. I enjoy situations at work where I am personally responsible for finding 0.62

solutions to problems.5. I try very hard to improve on my past performance at work.a 0.616. I get the most satisfaction when completing job assignments that are fairly difficult. 0.427. I want frequent feedback on how I am doing on the job. 0.408. I do my best work when my job assignments are fairly difficult.a 0.399. I believe in taking moderate risks to get ahead at work.a 0.34

Note: n365.aItem adapted from Steers and Braunsteins Manifest Needs Questionnaire (1976).




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Positive mood

The employees rated their mood at work using four items from Brief, Burke, George, Robinson,

and Websters (1988) Job Affect Scale (JAS). A series of confirmatory factor analyses on the Job

Affect Scale (Burke, Brief, George, Roberson, & Webster, 1989) revealed that the positive mood items

formed a unitary factor. In the present study, employees used five-point Likert-type scales (1 little,

5 very much) to rate the extent to which they felt happy, active, enthusiastic, and energetic on anaverage day at work. We replaced the JAS items elated and peppy with the synonyms happy and

energetic to reflect the contemporary American vernacular.

Organizational spontaneity

We used the five items reported by Lynch, Eisenberger, and Armeli (1999) to load highest on an

organizational spontaneity factor in two separate studies of supervisors evaluations of employees

(Cronbachs 0.91 and 0.90, respectively). These items were as follows: makes constructive sug-

gestions to improve the overall functioning of his/her workgroup; encourages others to try new and

more effective ways of doing their job; keeps well informed where his/her opinion might benefit

the organization; continues to look for new ways to improve the effectiveness of his/her work; and

takes action to protect the organization from potential problems. Supervisors evaluated the employees

on five-point Likert-type scales (1 agree slightly or not at all, 5 very strongly agree).

Results and Discussion

A principal components analysis and scree plot on the need for achievement items indicated that the

items formed a single factor, having an eigenvalue of 3.6 that accounted for 49% of the total variance

(see Table 1). Eight of the nine items loaded acceptably on the factor and were included in the final

scale. Means, standard deviations, internal reliabilities, and intercorrelations among the variables are

reported in Table 2. All measures showed acceptable internal reliabilities above the 0.70 threshold sug-

gested by Nunnally (1967). To determine if differences existed among the companys stores on our key

Table 2. Study 1 and Study 2: Means, standard deviations, alpha reliabilities, and intercorrelations amongvariables

Variable Ma SDa Mb SDb 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1. Tenure 42.37 34.73 45.29 46.60 () 0.11 0.05 0.07 0.17**

2. Need for Ach 5.00 0.89 4.58 0.86 0.04 (0.79/0.88) 0.40*** 0.18** 0.21***

3. Positive Mood 2.53 0.88 0.00 0.30*** (0.84/ )

4. Org Spontc 3.16 1.04 0.22*** 0.12* 0.17** (0.91/)

5. Interest 5.58 1.99 ( /0.89) 0.41*** 0.52***6. Skill 7.53 1.58 7.26 1.51 0.09 0.17** 0.10 0.09 (/ )d 0.28***

7. Challenge 4.43 2.05 5.34 2.04 0.22*** 0.13* 0.20*** 0.14** 0.14** ( /)e

Note: For Study 1, n

365; for Study 2, n

260. Correlations for Study 1 appear below the diagonal; correlations for Study 2appear above the diagonal. Cronbachs alphas appear on the diagonal (Study 1/Study2). Tenure is measured in months.aStudy 1.bStudy 2.cn335.dCronbachs alpha could not be calculated for the skill measure, because employees differed in the work tasks on which theyrated skill.eCronbachs alpha could not be calculated for the challenge measure, because employees differed in the work tasks on which theyrated challenge.*p


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measures (skill, challenge, and need for achievement), we performed one-way ANOVAs. Store loca-

tion was found to be unrelated to skill, challenge, and need for achievement ( F(7, 357) 1.10, n.s.;

F(7, 357) 1.62, n.s.; F(7, 357) 0.96, n.s., respectively).

Positive mood was regressed on the skill/challenge combinations and need for achievement. We

used orthogonal helmert contrasts (see Judd & McClelland, 1989) to assess variation of positive mood

across the four combinations of skill and challenge.1

The first contrast tested the hypothesis that theflow context (high skill and high challenge) would produce a more positive mood than would the other

three combinations of skill and challenge. For this contrast, employees in the flow context were coded

as 1, while those in the apathy, boredom, and anxiety contexts were each coded 0.333. In order to

determine whether differences in positive mood experience existed among the three non-flow contexts,

two additional orthogonal helmert contrasts were created. The second contrast compared employees in

the anxiety context to those in the boredom and apathy contexts. Employees in the anxiety context

were assigned 1, while those in the boredom and apathy contexts were each assigned 0.5. Employees

in the flow context were excluded from this contrast. The third contrast compared employees in the

boredom and apathy contexts by coding those in the boredom context as 1 and employees in the apathy

context as 1. Those in the flow and anxiety contexts were excluded from this contrast. A similar ana-

lysis was carried out for organizational spontaneity.

Employee tenure within the organization was entered in the first step of the regression analyses as acovariate. To reduce potential multicollinearity between the interaction terms and their component

variables, the need for achievement measure was centered (Aiken & West, 1991). Considering positive

mood first (see Table 3), employees in the flow context (high skill and high challenge) experienced

greater positive mood than those in other combinations of skill and challenge. Differences in positive

mood among the other combinations of skill and challenge were not statistically significant. Addition-

ally, need for achievement was directly related to positive mood. These findings were qualified by the

predicted interaction between the need for achievement and flow versus other contexts.

Simple effects tests (Aiken & West, 1991) were used to break down the interaction. As shown in

Figure 2, among employees with the highest need for achievement, high skill and challenge produced

greater positive mood than did other combinations of skill and challenge (t(353) 3.47, p< 0.01).

Among employees with the lowest need for achievement, high skill and challenge failed to produce

greater positive mood than did the other combinations of skill and challenge (t(353)1.20). Addi-

tionally, simple slopes tests found that among employees who experienced high skill and challenge,

need for achievement was incrementally related to positive mood (t(353) 3.24, p< 0.01). In contrast,

among employees who experienced the other skill-challenge combinations, need for achievement was

not reliably related to positive mood (t(353) 1.19). In sum, high skill and challenge was positively

associated with positive mood only among employees having a high need for achievement.

1While it is generally preferable to retain variables in their original continuous form when carrying out regression, therebyretaining full quantitative information, the median-splits of skill and challenge provided a more straightforward assessment of thepredictions of Csikszentmihalyis flow theory. Our theory-based comparison of the high-skill, high-challenge condition with theaverage performance of the other three conditions does not assess a pure interactive effect of skill and challenge.

Csikszentmihalyis theory assumes that high skill and high challenge (flow) is pleasant and that the other three combinations ofskill and challenge are unpleasant. This prediction is best captured by the first contrast which compares high skill and highchallenge with the mean of the other three combinations of skill and challenge. Technically, this contrast involves balancing highskill and high challenge (value 1) against values for the three remaining combinations of skill and challenge (0.333). Our useof additional contrasts provided the supplementary benefit of assessing whether the other three combinations of skill andchallenge differed with respect to the outcomes. Were we to retain skill and challenge in their continuous form in a regressionanalysis, none of the outcomes, including the interaction with need for achievement, would directly assess our hypotheses. Thismay be seen by the fact that the contrast for a pure statistical interaction differs from that needed to assess flow theory. For thepure interaction, the contrasts would be: 1, 1, 1, and 1, respectively, for the following combinations of skill and challenge:high skill-high challenge; high skill-low challenge; low skill-high challenge; and low skill-low challenge.




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A regression analysis was also performed on organizational spontaneity (see Table 3). The results

were comparable to the findings for positive mood. Employees in the flow context (high skill and high

challenge) showed greater organizational spontaneity than those in other combinations of skill and

challenge. As with positive mood, the predicted interaction between need for achievement and the flow

versus other-contexts interaction was statistically significant.

As shown in Figure 3, simple effects analyses revealed that among employees with the highest need

for achievement, the combination of high skill and challenge produced greater organizational sponta-

neity than did other combinations of skill and challenge (t(323) 2.41, p< 0.05). Among employees

with the lowest need for achievement, high skill and challenge produced no greater organizational

spontaneity than other skill-challenge combinations (t(323)1.38). Further, simple slopes tests

revealed that among employees who experienced high skill and challenge, need for achievementwas incrementally related to organizational spontaneity (t(323) 2.12, p< 0.05), while no reliable

relationship between need for achievement and organizational spontaneity was found for employees

experiencing the other combinations of skill and challenge (t(323) 0.34). Thus, as with positive

mood, high skill and challenge were associated with organizational spontaneity only among employ-

ees with a high need for achievement.

We also predicted that positive mood would mediate the interactive relationship of skill/challenge

and need for achievement with organizational spontaneity. Such an association has been termed

Table 3. Study 1: Hierarchical regression analysis for positive mood and organizational spontaneity

Positive mood Organizational spontaneity

B SE R2 B SE R2

Step 1 0.00 0.05***

Tenure 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.23***Step 2 0.14*** 0.04*

Tenure 0.00 0.00 0.06 0.00 0.00 0.18**Flow vs. Non flow 0.34 0.08 0.22*** 0.26 0.10 0.14*Anxiety vs. Boredom and Apathy 0.13 0.07 0.09 0.14 0.09 0.08Boredom vs. Apathy 0.02 0.06 0.02 0.07 0.08 0.05Need for achievement 0.30 0.06 0.26*** 0.12 0.08 0.08

Step 3 0.01 0.02Tenure 0.00 0.00 0.06 0.00 0.00 0.18**Flow vs. Non flow 0.30 0.08 0.19*** 0.22 0.11 0.12*Anxiety vs. Boredom and Apathy 0.14 0.07 0.10 0.17 0.09 0.10Boredom vs. Apathy 0.03 0.07 0.03 0.11 0.09 0.07Need for achievement 0.31 0.06 0.26*** 0.11 0.08 0.08Flow vs. Non flowNeed for achievement 0.23 0.11 0.11* 0.34 0.14 0.13*Anxiety vs. Boredom and ApathyNeed for ach. 0.04 0.10 0.02 0.00 0.12 0.00Boredom vs. ApathyNeed for ach. 0.02 0.09 0.01 0.16 0.11 0.08

Step 4 0.01*Tenure 0.00 0.00 0.19***Flow vs. Non flow 0.17 0.11 0.09Anxiety vs. Boredom and Apathy 0.15 0.09 0.09Boredom vs. Apathy 0.10 0.09 0.06Need for achievement 0.07 0.08 0.05Flow vs. Non flowNeed for achievement 0.31 0.14 0.12*Anxiety vs. Boredom and ApathyNeed for ach. 0.00 0.12 0.00Boredom vs. ApathyNeed for achievement 0.16 0.11 0.08Positive mood 0.15 0.07 0.12*

Note: For positive mood, final model: F(8,356)7.66, p


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mediated moderation (Baron & Kenny, 1986). Technically, mediated moderation differs from tradi-

tional mediation only in that the predictor variable is an interaction. In our analysis, the predictor vari-

able is the interaction of the conditions of skill/challenge with need for achievement. The mediated

moderation hypothesis was tested using the z-prime method, as recommended by MacKinnon,

Lockwood, Hoffman, West, and Sheets (2002). MacKinnon et al. (2002) demonstrated that the classic

1

2

3

4

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Need for Achievement

PositiveMood

High skill - Highchallenge

Other skill-challengecombinations

Figure 2. Interaction of need for achievement and flow versus other contexts on positive affect in Study 1

1

2

3

4

1 2 3 4 5 6 7


Organization

alSpontaneity


Other skill-

challenge

combinations

Figure 3. Interaction of need for achievement and flow versus other contexts on organizational spontaneity inStudy 1




12/21

mediational method suggested by Baron and Kenny (1986) has low statistical power, and that the z-

prime method provides more power and a lesser Type 1 error rate than the Baron and Kenny approach.

The z-prime method and Baron and Kennys (1986) procedure are similar, in that both calculate an

indirect (mediated) effect of the independent variable on the outcome variable through the mediator

using an identical formula. They differ in the statistical distribution used to determine whether the

indirect effect is significant. Because the estimate of the indirect effect is not normally distributed,MacKinnon et al.s (2002) z-prime method uses the modified critical value of 0.97 for the test of sig-

nificance, as opposed to 1.96 for the Z distribution.

Using the z-prime method to determine the indirect effect of the skill/challenge by need for achieve-

ment interaction on organizational spontaneity through positive mood, it is necessary to calculate (a)

the effect of the exogenous variable (the skill/challenge by need for achievement interaction) on the

mediator (positive mood) and (b) the effect of the mediator (positive mood) on the outcome variable

(organizational spontaneity) controlling for the exogenous variable (the skill/challenge by need for

achievement interaction). The effect of the skill/challenge by need for achievement interaction on

positive mood was significant (B 0.23, SE 0.11, p< 0.05; see Table 3). Moreover, positive mood

significantly predicted organizational spontaneity when controlling for the skill/challenge by need for

achievement interaction (B 0.15, SE 0.07, p< 0.05; see Table 3). Finally, the overall test of med-

iation was statistically significant (z0 1.51, p< 0.05), thereby demonstrating that positive moodpartially mediated the interaction of skill/challenge with need for achievement on organizational

spontaneity.

In summary, need for achievement moderated the relationship between the experience of skill and

challenge at work and employees positive mood and organizational spontaneity. Achievement-

oriented employees experiencing high skill and challenge showed greater positive mood and organiza-

tional spontaneity than achievement-oriented employees experiencing other combinations of skill and

challenge. Employees with a low need for achievement experiencing high skill and challenge showed

neither more positive mood nor more organizational spontaneity than did low achievement-oriented

employees experiencing other skill-challenge combinations. Moreover, positive mood partially

mediated the stronger relationship between high skill and challenge and organizational spontaneity

among achievement-oriented employees.

These findings support Csikszentmihalyi and LeFevres (1989) suggestions that high skill and

challenge creates an optimal subjective experience relative to other combinations of skill and chal-

lenge and that dispositional differences influence the degree to which high skill and challenge

produces an elevated subjective experience. Specifically, need for achievement appears to have

an important influence on whether high skill and challenge influences positive mood and

organizational spontaneity at work. Positive mood appears to contribute to the association

between high skill and challenge, and organizational spontaneity for employees high in need for

achievement.

Study 2

In Study 1, we found that the positive relationship of high skill and challenge with positive mood

and organizational spontaneity depended on need for achievement. We assessed dispositional

differences in need for achievement through questionnaire items concerning employees desire to

develop and utilize talents and skills (Atkinson, 1964) and surpass personal standards of excellence

(McClelland, 1987; McClelland et al., 1953) in the context of work. As a general dispositional




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orientation, need for achievement applies to non-work as well as work situations. Our conclusion that

need for achievement strongly influences employees positive reactions to the experience of high skill

and challenge at work would be strengthened by a more general measure of need for achievement that

included items assessing need for achievement in non-work situations. Therefore, we broadened the

questionnaire measure of need for achievement to include both work and non-work situations.

Study 2 also extended the findings of the first study to a second important outcome of high perceivedtask skill and challenge: task interest (Catley & Duda, 1997; Csikszentmihalyi & LeFevre, 1989;

Haworth & Hill, 1992). Based on the rationale that high perceived skill and challenge at work would

often meet the achievement-oriented employees desire to surpass personal standards of excellence, we

predicted that the relationship of high skill and challenge with task interest would be greatest among

employees with a high need for achievement.

In Study 1, each employees skill and challenge was judged to be high or low based on the between-

participants approach which involved comparing each employees skill and challenge at work with the

median levels of skill and challenge of a reference group of employees (Csikszentmihalyi & Rathunde,

1993). To increase the generality of our finding that dispositional differences in need for achievement

influence the degree to which high skill and challenge contributes to satisfaction and enjoyment; Study

2 incorporated the within-participants methodology suggested by Csikszentmihalyi (1990; Csikszent-

mihalyi et al., 1993). Specifically, we compared each employees skill and challenge at work with hisor her average level of skill and challenge for a variety of daily activities.

Method

Sample and procedure

We used an independent sample of 265 employees at eight sites of the same organization examined in

Study 1. Administration procedures were the same as in the first study. Of the 265 employees given the

survey, 260 employees (98%) returned completed questionnaires. Twenty-eight percent of the partici-

pants were female.

Measures

Tenure

Employee tenure in the organization was obtained from company records.

Skill and challenge

As in Study 1, employees listed the five-job activities on which they spent the most time during an

average workday and rated their skill and challenge involved in each, using a 9-point Likert-type

scale. The specific items used to assess skill and challenge were identical to those used in Study 1.

Each employee was also administered a list of 21 activities designed by the investigators to repre-

sent a full range of typical non-work activities, such as gardening, cooking, playing competitivesports, socializing with friends and family, surfing the internet, reading, watching television, shop-

ping, exercising, and playing games. On a nine-point Likert-type scale (1 low, 9 high), employ-

ees rated their perceived skill and challenge for each of the non-work activities in which they

participated. We averaged each participants skill and challenge levels across all the activities in

which he or she participated, including work, to create baseline levels of skill and challenge. Each

employees average skill and challenge at work was classified as high or low relative to his/her

baseline levels of skill and challenge.




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Need for achievement

The items used are presented in Table 4. We used the 8 need for achievement items used in Study 1,

added items that explicitly asked about achievement motivation away from work (Items 5, 9, 12, and

13), and also included three additional work items (Items 6, 8, and 14) so that each item assessing need

for achievement away from work would be accompanied by a similarly worded item assessing need for

achievement at work. In this way, we could examine whether need for achievement in work settings

would form a single factor or distinct factor from need for achievement in non-work settings. Respon-

dents used the same rating scale as in the prior study.

Intrinsic task interest

Using the terms most commonly used to assess intrinsic task interest (interesting and enjoyable,

Cameron & Pierce, 1994) employees were asked to use nine-point Likert-type scales (1 not at

all, 9 very) to rate each of the 5 work activities on which they spent the most time during an average

workday. Because the two items correlated highly (0.89), we combined them to form an overall mea-

sure of intrinsic task interest.

Results and Discussion

A principal components analysis and scree plot on the need for achievement items indicated that the

items formed a single factor, with an eigenvalue of 5.8 that accounted for 39% of the total variance. Asshown in Table 4, all fifteen items had factor loadings above a value of 0.40. Since the achievement

items related to work and non-work contributed to a common factor, a single need for achievement

score was obtained by averaging each respondents scores on all of the items. The resultant measure

of need for achievement showed an acceptable level of internal reliability. Means, standard deviations,

and internal reliabilities for all measures are reported in Table 2.

As with Study 1, we performed ANOVAs to determine whether differences existed between-

stores on our key measures (skill, challenge, and need for achievement). Store location was found

Table 4. Study 2: Factor loadings for need for achievement items

Statement Factor loading

1. I am pleased when I can take on added job responsibilities. 0.772. I like to set challenging goals for myself on the job. 0.733. I do my best work when my job assignments are fairly difficult. 0.724. I enjoy situations at work where I am personally responsible for finding 0.70

solutions to problems.5. I enjoy difficult tasks away from work. 0.666. I enjoy difficult work. 0.647. I get the most satisfaction when completing job assignments that are fairly difficult. 0.638. People should be more involved with their work. 0.619. I am always looking for opportunities to improve my skills away from work. 0.61

10. I am always looking for opportunities to improve my skills on the job. 0.6011. I try very hard to improve on my past performance at work. 0.5612. I try very hard to improve on my past performance away from work. 0.5513. I often set goals away from work that are very difficult to reach. 0.5414. I often set goals at work that are very difficult to reach. 0.5415. I want frequent feedback on how I am doing on the job. 0.43

Note: n260.




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to be unrelated to skill, challenge, and need for achievement (F(7, 252) 1.16, n.s.; F(7, 252) 1.89,

n.s.; F(7, 252) 0.48, n.s., respectively).

Hierarchical linear regression was used to examine the influences of skill, challenge, and need for

achievement on interest at work. The same helmert contrasts used in Study 1 were used in the presentanalysis. Tenure was entered into the first step of the regression equation. The combination of high skill

and challenge produced greater interest than the other three combinations of skill and challenge ( 0.29,

SE 0.17, p< 0.001). As in Study 1, differences among these latter skill/challenge combinations did not

reach statistical significance. Need for achievement was also positively related to interest at work

( 0.29, SE 0.16, p< 0.001). The predicted interaction between the need for achievement and flow

versus other contexts was also statistically significant ( 0.14, SE 0.20, p< 0.05).

As shown in Figure 4, simple effects tests indicated that among employees with the highest need for

achievement, high skill and challenge produced greater interest than did other combinations of skill

and challenge (t(248) 4.43, p< 0.001). Among employees with the lowest need for achievement,

high skill and challenge produced no greater interest than did the other combinations of skill and chal-

lenge (t(248)1.32). Also, simple slopes tests revealed that among employees who experienced

high skill and challenge, need for achievement was incrementally related to interest (t(248) 6.15,

p< 0.001). In contrast, among employees who experienced the other skill-challenge combinations,

need for achievement was not reliably related to interest (t(248) 1.37).

Study 2 found that among employees with a high need for achievement, the combination of high

skill and challenge resulted in a greater task interest than other combinations of skill and challenge.

This finding complements the Study 1 finding that high skill and challenge was associated with

enhanced positive mood only for employees with high need for achievement. Whether need for

achievement was assessed regarding work-related activities (Study 1) or more generally to include

non-work activities (Study 2), the combination of high skill and high challenge resulted in an enhanced

subjective experience relative to other combinations of skill and challenge only for achievement

oriented employees.

General Discussion

We found that among achievement-oriented employees, the experience of high skill and

challenge was related to a greater positive mood, task interest, and organizational spontaneity than

other combinations of skill and challenge. In contrast, among employees with a low need

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

1 2 3 4 5 6 7


Task

Interest


Other skill-challengecombinations

Figure 4. Interaction of need for achievement and flow versus other contexts on task interest in Study 2




16/21

for achievement, high skill and challenge were not associated with increased positive

mood, task interest, or organizational spontaneity. The findings are generally consistent with

Csikszentmihalyis (1990) flow theory, which suggests that the combination of high skill and

challenge should increase employees task interest and elevate their mood. Our findings that these

relationships occurred among achievement-oriented employees, but not among those having a low

need for achievement, extend flow theory by demonstrating that personality influences the degree towhich high skill and challenge at work is associated with an elevated subjective experience relative

to other skill-challenge combinations.

Our research is also the first to show that high skill and challenge is related to employee perfor-

mance. Specifically, high perceived skill and challenge was most strongly associated with organiza-

tional spontaneity among achievement-oriented employees. These activities included the extent to

which employees looked for ways to improve the effectiveness of their work, made constructive sug-

gestions to improve the overall functioning of their workgroups, and encouraged other employees to

try new and more effective ways of carrying out their jobs. Moreover, our findings suggest that positive

mood partially mediates this association. These results are consistent with prior research indicating

that positive mood led to increased organizational spontaneity and creativity (Eisenberger et al.,

2001; Eisenberger & Rhoades, 2001; George & Brief, 1992). George and Brief suggested that positive

mood primes employees to think of positive characteristics of their co-workers and organization,thereby promoting helping behavior (George & Brief, 1992). Positive mood has also been argued to

promote creative thinking, leading to creative suggestions that help the organization fulfill its

objectives (Eisenberger et al., 2001; George & Brief, 1992). Overall, the results suggest that

Csikszentmihalyis (1990) flow theory, when supplemented by considerations of personality, provides

important insights into employees optimal experience at work.

In our studies, low achievement-oriented employees did not show greater positive mood, task inter-

est, or organizational spontaneity when they experienced high skill and challenge than when they

experienced other skillchallenge combinations. For these employees, successful accomplishment

at work may hold little intrinsic interest. They might be more likely to experience satisfaction from

job factors such as autonomy, pay or benefits, supportiveness of co-workers and supervisors, or the

amount of free time their jobs allow.

Our results involving need for achievement provide support for Csikszentmihalyi and LeFevres

(1989) suggestion that dispositional differences might affect the likelihood that tasks involving high

skill and challenge are experienced more positively than other skill and challenge combinations. In

both of our studies, the subjective experience related to high skill and challenge was most favorable

for achievement-oriented employees, whereas employees low in need for achievement failed to experi-

ence high skill and challenge more favorably than other skill-challenge combinations. Individual dif-

ferences in need for achievement may have been responsible for Csikszentmihalyi and LeFevres

(1989) findings of large individual differences in employee motivation produced by high skill and chal-

lenge at work.

The enhanced positive mood and task interest experienced by achievement-oriented individuals

under conditions of high skill and challenge are consistent with Atkinsons (1964) and

McClellands (1961, 1987) view that individuals high in need for achievement strive to meet stan-dards of excellence and derive satisfaction from doing so. The perception that one is fully exercis-

ing ones capacities would be especially motivating and satisfying to achievement-oriented

employees. Conversely, other combinations of skill and challenge have features that would be less

motivating for achievement-oriented employees. Tasks involving a combination of low skill and

challenge have a low probability of success, which achievement-oriented individuals attempt to

avoid (deCharms & Carpenter, 1968; Hamilton, 1974; Trope, 1975; Karabenick & Youssef,

1968; Raynor & Entin, 1982; Trope & Brickman, 1975). Tasks characterized by low challenge lack




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opportunities for employees to meet standards of excellence and thus have little value for achieve-

ment-oriented individuals.

We found in Study 2 that items assessing need for achievement in both work and non-work settings

formed a single factor. Evidently, we were assessing employees general need for achievement rather

than simply their valuation of achievement solely at work. However, it would be premature to conclude

that individuals low in need for achievement would not prefer high skill and challenge to other com-binations of skill and challenge away from work. Possibly, low achievement oriented individuals are

troubled by the evaluation apprehension in work settings and are able to enjoy less evaluative high skill

and challenge activities away from work. For example, individuals low in need for achievement may

find pleasure and enjoyment in high skill and challenge activities such as reading a difficult book, pre-

paring an intricate meal, or engaging in adventurous endeavors such as rock climbing. This suggestion

is consistent with Moneta and Csikszentmihalyis (1996) finding that talented high school students

differed from one another significantly at school in the magnitude of their aversive reactions to mis-

matches in skill and challenge, perhaps reflecting disparities in need for achievement. Away from

school, in less evaluative settings, the students showed more uniform aversive reactions to imbalances

in skill and challenge.

Also of interest for future research are the possible generalized effects of favorable experiences of

high skill and challenge at work. Csikszentmihalyi (1988, p. 369) maintained that the favorable sub-jective experience associated with repeated instances of flow in a particular context should influence

general subjective well-being. Thus, employees who respond favorably to high skill and challenge at

work might show greater overall happiness.

Flow theory assumes that a pleasurable state of task absorption results from individuals comparison

of their perceived skill with the difficulty or challenge posed by the task; when both are high, the indi-

vidual should experience considerable task enjoyment (Moneta & Csikszentmihalyi, 1996). The the-

ory would need to be modified if these perceptions were mutually dependent to a strong degree. For

example, a person who felt unskilled in a task might inflate its perceived challenge leading to a nega-

tive correlation between perceived skill and challenge. In our studies the relationship between skill and

challenge was modest and in the positive direction (r 0.14 and r 0.28 in Studies 1 and 2, respec-

tively), suggesting that employees had little difficulty discriminating between their own skill and task

challenge. The reliable positive relationship that we found is nonetheless interesting in its own right

and a subject for future research. Perhaps employees who succeed at high challenge tasks attribute

their success to skill competence (Taylor, 1981).

As an alternative to the present interpretation that the perception of high skill and challenge led to

positive mood, task interest, and organizational spontaneity, as moderated by need for achievement,

the reverse direction of causality could be argued. For example, engagement in organizational

spontaneity may lead employees to feel more efficacious on the job, producing a positive mood,

and altering their perceptions of skill and challenge. These effects might be stronger among

achievement-oriented individuals than among those with a low need for achievement. While these

alternative interpretations are possible, the pattern of findings, and especially the interaction between

need for achievement and high skill and challenge, was well predicted by theory.

The present research has practical implications for employee motivation and satisfaction. Providingemployees high in need for achievement with opportunities to fully exercise their skills in challenging

tasks at work may bring enhanced positive mood, increased task interest, and increased organizational

spontaneity. Csikszentmihalyis (1990) approach suggests that in order to maintain the interest of

achievement-oriented employees, it is important that tasks be challenging and that employees possess

skills appropriate to those tasks. The present findings suggest that to maintain motivation, care should

be taken not to overwhelm achievement-oriented employees with tasks for which their skills are ill-

equipped or to bore them with extremely simple tasks. In contrast, employees with a low need for




18/21

achievement showed low positive mood and task interest, relative to employees high in need for

achievement, regardless of the levels of skill and challenge. For these individuals, it is an open question

whether other job enrichment techniques would be effective in increasing task interest or whether the

extrinsic motivation provided by rewards is necessary to enhance motivation.

In summary, the present findings suggest that employees perceived degrees of skill and

challenge are related to their positive mood, task interest, and organizational spontaneity. Amongachievement-oriented employees, a balance of high skill and challenge had positive consequences

for themselves and the organization. Individuals having a disposition to meet high standards of excel-

lence found high skill and challenge in the workplace to be a satisfying experience. Moreover, among

these individuals, high skill and challenge on the job was associated with enhanced organizational

spontaneity.

Author biographies

Robert Eisenberger is Professor of Psychology at the University of Delaware. His research interests

include employee motivation, intrinsic motivation and creativity, and learned industriousness. He isauthor of more than sixty publications in such journals as Psychological Review, Psychological Bul-

letin, American Psychologist, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Personality and Social Psy-

chology, and Journal of Organizational Behavior. Two special reports of his research have been carried

out on National Public Radio, and reports have also appeared in the American Psychological Associa-

tion Monitor, Encyclopedia Britannica Science and the Future Yearbook, Science News, and Report on

Education Research. Dr. Eisenbergers research has been funded by grants from the National Institute

of Mental Health.

Jason R. Jones is a graduate student at the University of Delaware under the direction of Dr. Robert

Eisenberger. His research interests include the attributional processes that contribute to the develop-

ment of perceived organizational support, the role that explanations and apologies by management

play in tempering the negative effects of unfavorable treatment on POS, and factors of the person

and the work environment that contribute to the flow experience on the job.Florence Stinglhamber obtained her Ph.D. from the Catholic University of Louvain (Louvain-

la-Neuve, Belgium). She is currently a researcher at Hautes Etudes Commerciales (HECLiege,

Belgium). Her research interests include perceived organizational support, perceived supervisor sup-

port, employee commitment in the workplace, and social justice.

Linda Shanock is an Assistant Professor in the Psychology department at the University at Albany,

State University of New York. Her main research areas include work motivation, employee attitudes,

and employee-employer relationships. Specifically, Dr. Shanock has conducted work on the relation-

ship between rewards and intrinsic motivation, predictors and outcomes of the engrossing and pleasur-

able subjective state called flow, and the development and refinement of organizational support theory.

Amanda T. Randall obtained her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the University of Delaware. She is

currently employed by Towers Perrin, Chicago where she is a Senior Consultant in the Change Imple-

mentation Practice Division.

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