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Good Work Makes You Happy Apr 19, 2003 (63 of 65 found this helpful)
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is the Hungarian-born writer of the bestseller Flow. This professor of Psychology and Education at the University of Chicago has been studying this concept of Flow for many years and has written several interesting books, among which Flow (1990) and Finding Flow (1997). Now he has written a new book: Good Business. It turns out to be just the book I hoped he would write: a book about Flow and work.
=WORK CAN CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR WELL-BEING!=
Although many people view work primarily negatively, it can actually contribute importantly to your well-being, more so than gaining more and more possessions. And because work is so important, it is vital that managers and employees create conditions in which good work can happen. But what is good work? It is enjoying doing your best while at the same time contributing to something beyond yourself. Csikszentmihalyi explains how this can be achieved through two processes: 1) experiencing flow and 2) growth toward complexity. What precisely do these two things mean?
1. Experiencing Flow
In situations of flow, tasks demand the full involvement of the person. In these situations there is a perfect balance between the challenge of the task and the skills of the person. The so-called 'flow channel' represents optimal experience, where both challenges and skills lie above the average level. More challenge than skill leads to arousal, anxiety, or worry. More skill than challenge leads to control, relaxation, or boredom. Flow depends on eight conditions: 1) goals are clear, 2) feedback is immediate, 3) a balance between opportunity and capacity, 4) concentration deepens, 5) the present is what matters, 6) control is no problem, 7) the sense of time is altered, 8) the loss of ego.
2. Growth Toward Complexity
People flourish when in their activities there is a trajectory of growth that results in the development of increasing emotional, cognitive and social complexity. With complexity two processes happen at once: a) DIFFERENTIATION: realizing that we are unique individuals, responsible for our own survival and well being, b) INTEGRATION: the realization that however unique we are, we are also part of a larger whole.
Conclusion: Regularly experiencing flow plus growing toward complexity are the ingredients of good work. But what about the 'happy' part? How can it be that pleasurable activities, products and relaxation are less important for happiness than the hard work of flow and complexity?
=PLEASURE VERSUS ENJOYMENT =
Csikszentmihalyi contrasts pleasure with enjoyment. He explains pleasure is nice but also conservative and leading to equilibrium while enjoyment is like happiness in action leading to greater skills. Enjoyment leads to a "triumph over the forces of entropy" and is like building psychological capital. Too bad that our materialistic and marketing-dominated culture emphasizes the importance of pleasure over enjoyment, since enjoyment is far more likely to lead to long term happiness!
=WHAT CAN MANAGERS AND EMPLOYEES DO? =
Managers and employees can do quite a lot to advance conditions of flow and complexity. The book does not provide a simple list but the reader will probably get many ideas.
As a manager I could take the eight conditions of flow and the two aspects of complexity and use them to rethink work and the way I interact with my employees. Doing that I would recognize I need to (among other things) create attractive working conditions (with clear goals, feedback, etc), provide a good degree of control to stimulate the development of employees and build an organization with a long term purpose people can relate to. Another I could do is start a one-on-one or group dialogue with employees about these flow and complexity principles in order to improve work.
Employees also can do a lot. As an employee I could do certain th
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More than just a great business book May 7, 2004 (24 of 25 found this helpful)
The premise of the book is that our jobs are a primary component in our life and that when we are happy in our work we are the most productive and of the most value to our business.
Mihaly reviews the concept of "flow" from his earlier studies which is a state where we fully utilize our skills and capabilities and how we are able to reach that state and what inhibits us from reaching it. We also learn about our own development stages and how we improve through the combination of
realizing our uniqueness and by valuing human relationships.
This book teaches us about good leadership qualities and how we (being led) can find satisfaction in our work.
Organizational leaders must clarify the goals of a business and ensure it is well communicated.
Three levers are available to managers to enable flow and create a great organization: make the environment attractive and comfortable; imbuing jobs with meaning and value; and by rewarding individuals who find satisfaction in their work.
Flow presents opportunity (such as finding more satisfaction) and challenge (as in the case of changing a job that sucks the life out of people).
Innovation is seen as repeatable through flow - but certain practices must be met such as: stay away from micro managing people; let people know the problems that need to be solved; and how to set and achieve performance goals (prioritizing tasks throughout a company has the effect of ensuring a company
won't meet its goals).
An outline of the conditions for flow:
1) Clear goals - you know your tasks and have the appropriate skill
2) Immediate feedback - you understand the effect of your efforts
3) Balance opportunity with capacity - you always learn to seek opportunity
4) Concentration - don't over think (remember the old 'Inner Tennis' books?)
5) The present is what matters - you exist in the 'now'
6) Control is no problem - you become immersed in the work
7) Time is altered - you 'slip through the cracks in time'
8) Loss of ego - you focus on giving not taking or defending
This book is a quick first read and will inspire thought, take the opportunity to read it.
It is more than a great business book - it is also a book about life.
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Must read for business leaders May 24, 2003 (15 of 16 found this helpful)
A brilliant work taking the author's concept of FLOW and applying it specifically to work and business. The approach may have been taken previously ... though never so well or so clearly. There are practical, concrete matters addressed as well as the overall psychology of FLOW. It quickly becomes clear why some employees stagnate in their work, even though they may be highly skilled. There is much that business owners, managers and leaders can take away to enhance their own lives, the lives of their employees and of society on the whole. And the not-so-surprising outcome of these endeavors is greater success for individuals and for the business.
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Finding Flow at Work Jun 22, 2006 (5 of 5 found this helpful)
Artists, when describing the act of painting a masterpiece, will often claim that they felt "lost" in their work. Likewise, a basketball player may describe the experience of setting up the winning play as having an altered perception of time, as if twelve seconds actually extended for hours. When we are truly engaged and at the highest states of enjoyment, we experience the freedom of complete absorption in activity. Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi, Professor of Psychology at Claremont Graduate University, first coined the term "flow" in 1975 to describe this experience, and has written several books about the concept including the bestseller Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience in 1990. Through a series of interviews with successful business leaders who combine high achievement with strong moral commitment, Good Business: Leadership, Flow, and the Making of Meaning explores the connection between flow and work.
Csikszentmihalyi claims that our jobs have a significant influence on the quality of our lives. He explains that happiness is not something that happens to us, but rather is something we make happen. As such, work can be one of the most fulfilling aspects of life, provided that employees have an opportunity to do their best and to contribute to something greater than themselves.
He makes a profound distinction between the concepts of pleasure and enjoyment: pleasure is a conservative force that makes us want to satisfy existing needs and does not foster change, whereas enjoyment is not always pleasant, and can be sometimes stressful. Csikszentmihalyi describes enjoyment as the sensation of being fully alive, triumphing over the forces of entropy and decay. A mountain climber, for example, who is utterly exhausted after an dangerous climb but who wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world than at the peak of a mountain, perhaps does not experience pleasure, but does experience enjoyment. Likewise, while relaxing in a hammock at the beach may be pleasurable, it cannot compare to the exhilaration and "flow" felt by the mountain climber. Similarly, an employee who holds a demanding and stressful position may not experience pleasure on the job, but for some, the challenge presented by the work is often enjoyable and can lead to "flow." For others, however, a demanding job may be overwhelming and may be experienced as drudgery, not enjoyment. Csikszentmihalyi explores characteristics that are common to organizations that support flow.
Csikszentmihalyi claims that leaders of organizations can actively create conditions to ensure that every employee has an opportunity to fully develop and express their potentialities and as a result experience flow. He explains that clear goals, good feedback, and incremental challenges are important factors that facilitate employee growth. First, goals must be clear both on an organizational and individual level. An employee must not only embrace the goals for the organization, he/she must trust their leader's commitment to those goals and must see how his/her individual activities align with the larger vision. Likewise, employees must have access to effective and meaningful feedback, not only to improve performance, but to be reassured that the leaders of the organization care deeply about their work. Finally, challenges presented to employees must be matched with their level of skill. Tasks that are too easy make experiences of flow and enjoyment more difficult to create, whereas challenges that are too great are simply overwhelming. Csikszentmihalyi states that actively creating conditions for flow is one of the best strategies for getting employees to give their best.
The assertions in the book are not clearly substantiated by research. Most of Csikszentmihalyi's claims seem to be derived from his earlier works and mapped onto workplace situations, corroborated by anecdotal evidence captured in interviews. A ca
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***UW-Milwaukee Course Text*** - Great Read Mar 29, 2007 (3 of 3 found this helpful)
Work can and should make you happy. If it doesn't something is wrong, according to the psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in his book Good Business: Leadership, Flow and the Making of Meaning. We spend much of our lives working, and it is not just a waste of time and energy when we do not enjoy it. Our output suffers, which the author argues is bad for society, not just for ourselves. Hungarian-born Csikszentmihalyi wrote the groundbreaking 1990 book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience that brought his research into human behavior to a wider audience. Martin Seligman, former president of the American Psychological Association, described Csikszentmihalyi as the world's leading researcher on positive psychology. In 1999, after a long career teaching psychology at the University of Chicago, he began teaching the subject to MBA students at the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University. He is also the director of the Quality of Life Research Center, a nonprofit institute in Claremont, California. The book centers on the topic of flow. Flow means being so absorbed in an activity that we shut out distractions and worries to devote all our energy to the task at hand. It can occur in work or play, but the focus in this book is on how people can find flow when they work, and how leaders can encourage flow in employees. Flow occurs when there is a balance between high challenges and skills. Flow is unlikely in an activity until we become proficient in it. It's also not static. Without continual challenge, boredom creeps in. "The important factor to keep in mind is that personal growth is contingent on the balance of opportunities for action and the capacities to act that a person encounters at work," he writes. He describes seven other components of flow: clear goals, immediate feedback, deepening concentration, focus on the moment, personal control, a sense of altered time and loss of ego. However, flow by itself is not sufficient for a happy, productive and meaningful life. We must be engaged in a worthy, ethical enterprise, working toward aspirations beyond ourselves and, ideally, with effects beyond our lifetime. Good Business contains snippets of interviews with top executives, such as Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, and Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop, chosen not only for their success in business, but because of their strong social conscience. Csikszentmihalyi's argument is that business is now our most crucial institution, so it has an obligation to the quality of life not just of its employees, but of society. He also quotes people who find flow in such activities as writing poetry, rock climbing and surgery. Flow is not just for executives, or those with exotic jobs or hobbies. His research shows that flow happens in service workers, such as janitors, or in workers on assembly lines. Finding flow is important, but happiness is the bottom line. Csikszentmihalyi says happiness usually follows fulfilling our potential, which rests on two separate but simultaneous processes. One is differentiation, the recognition of our unique characteristics and our sense of responsibility for survival and well-being. The other is integration: realizing that we are "completely enmeshed in networks of relationships with other human beings, with cultural symbols and artifacts, and with the surrounding natural environment. A person who is fully differentiated and integrated becomes a complex individual -- one who has the best chance at leading a happy, vital, and meaningful life."
Good Business is a good book. But it's not a "how-to" with neatly compartmentalized bullet points and acronyms for success. There aren't simple strategies and steps that can be applied after you're through reading. There aren't quizzes or assessments to rank your or your organization's degree of Flow.