FLOW IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE: CONCILIATING CHALLENGES AND ABILITIES FROM A REALISTIC POINT OF VIEW

Abstract

This article proposes to demonstrate that life quality at work and the ability to achieve the Flow, or Optimal Experience, are associated among other aspects with the abilities to harmonize task challenges with individual skills; to realistically perceive the hardest aspects of the organizational environment; and to face personal limitations in a constructive way.

For this purpose, a survey was carried out with a sample of state civil servants, to whom the option of a Voluntary Dismissal Program was offered. The data obtained were submitted to the Contents Analysis, as proposed by Bardin (1997). The Flow concept is derived from the work of Mihay Csikszentmihalyi (1197, 1996, 1992, 1991).

Results showed that a group of people who rejected the Voluntary Dismissal Program demonstrated a remarkable ability to avoid stress and obtain satisfaction at work, despite the bureaucratic and mechanistic structure of the organization where they work. In contrast, a group who chose to join the Program made an inaccurate self-evaluation and ended up accepting challenges that were not compatible with their skills and talents, with disastrous consequences for their personal and professional lives. Results confirm Csikszentmihalyi’s theoretical assumptions and suggest the necessity of reformulating the presuppositions of the Voluntary Dismissal Programs carried out in the state up to this moment.