Teams’ stressors and flow experience: An energy-based perspective and the role of team mindfulness

Despite abundant evidence indicating the beneficial consequences of flow, thus far, ways to activate this peak state at the team level remain largely understudied. In this study, by integrating the challenge–hindrance framework with productive energy theory, we illustrated how different team stressors may activate or inhibit team flow via energy-based mechanisms (i.e., team affective, cognitive, and behavioral energy). We also explored the role of team mindfulness in promoting flow by (re)shaping team members’ interactions caused by stressors. We used three-wave, multisource data from 125 teams from the high-technology industry to test these arguments. The data confirm that team challenge stressors enhance team flow experience by increasing team energy, whereas team hindrance stressors undermine team flow experience by depleting team energy. Team mindfulness strengthens the positive effect of challenge stressors on team energy and alleviates the depletion caused by hindrance stressors, consequently increasing team flow experience. Our findings elucidate the formation of team flow and can inform practitioners about how to fuel and sustain this optimal state.