From positive organizational environments to employee well-being: a positive psychology perspective to promote flow and reduce self-objectification

This research employed an integrated theoretical approach to examine the relationship between job and personal resources, motivational processes, and psychological well-being within the context of the Job Demands-Resources model. Through two cross-sectional studies (Study 1: N = 263; Study 2: N = 360), we explored the relationship between the challenges-skills balance, organizational identification, flow, self-objectification, and psychological well-being. The findings revealed that challenges-skills balance and organizational identification were positively associated with adaptive processes – namely, higher levels of flow and psychological well-being, and lower levels of self-objectification. When considered together, flow and self-objectification appeared to play a more central role in psychological well-being than challenges-skills balance and organizational identification. This suggests that flow and self-objectification may be key constructs for understanding how challenges-skills balance and organizational identification relate to workplace experiences and contribute to a “spillover effect” from work to broader life experiences.