Elsayed Ahmed M, Mahgoub Ibrahim G, Abdelaziz Mahmoud Abdelaziz Ahmed
Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Commerce, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt.
Department of Management, College of Business Administration in Yanbu, Taibah University, Madinah, Saudi Arabia.
BMC Psychol. 2025 Jul 26;13(1):837. doi: 10.1186/s40359-025-03161-6.
Based on the Socially Embedded Model of Thriving (SEMT), the present study extends research on thriving by examining the effect of a new bottom-up approach to work design, playful work design (PWD), on thriving at work. Furthermore, we try to improve our understanding of the PWD-thriving relationship by examining the mediating role of work-related flow.
A multi-temporal questionnaire data collection approach was adopted, conducted across two waves with an interval of two weeks. At Time 1, 341 participants completed questionnaires measuring Playful Work Design and Work-related Flow. At Time 2, 309 participants responded to the thriving questionnaire. Data were analyzed using WarpPLS 8.0 software.
Findings reveal that PWD has a significant direct impact on both work-related flow and thriving at work. Work enjoyment and motivation partially mediated the relationship between PWD and thriving, whereas work absorption did not show a statistically significant mediating effect.
The study provides fresh empirical insights into the psychological mechanisms linking PWD to thriving, particularly within underexplored academic settings. It contributes to the literature by highlighting the role of enjoyment and motivational pathways in fostering thriving among academics and suggests practical implications for enhancing faculty thriving and well-being in higher education institutions.
基于蓬勃发展的社会嵌入模型（SEMT），本研究通过考察一种新的自下而上的工作设计方法——趣味性工作设计（PWD）对工作中蓬勃发展的影响，扩展了对蓬勃发展的研究。此外，我们试图通过考察与工作相关的心流的中介作用，来加深对PWD与蓬勃发展关系的理解。
采用多时段问卷调查数据收集方法，分两波进行，间隔两周。在时间1，341名参与者完成了测量趣味性工作设计和与工作相关的心流的问卷。在时间2，309名参与者回答了关于蓬勃发展的问卷。使用WarpPLS 8.0软件对数据进行分析。
研究结果表明，PWD对与工作相关的心流和工作中的蓬勃发展都有显著的直接影响。工作乐趣和动机部分中介了PWD与蓬勃发展之间的关系，而工作投入并未显示出统计学上显著的中介效应。
该研究为将PWD与蓬勃发展联系起来的心理机制提供了新的实证见解，特别是在研究较少的学术环境中。它通过强调乐趣和动机途径在促进学者蓬勃发展中的作用，为文献做出了贡献，并为提高高等教育机构教师的蓬勃发展和幸福感提出了实际意义。
