Satisfied employees through Lean (4): Working in flow

We know from happiness research that it is not money and material prosperity that guarantee happiness and contentment, but the moments in life when we are intensely absorbed in something and forget the space and time around us. The well-known happiness researcher Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi coined the term ‘flow’ for this. This flow does not arise when doing nothing or on vacation, but through complete deepening and concentration on an activity. The activity is then done effortlessly and as if by itself.

Of course, if we have the chance to get into this state, the flow, in our daily work environment, it contributes significantly to our job satisfaction and well-being (apart from the advantages for the company through the increased productivity of the employees).

Unfortunately, everyday work looks different in many companies. Constant interruptions through queries, telephone calls, emails lead to ever shorter work phases, you’ve hardly gotten used to a task before you’re torn out again. A recent example: the analysis in one company showed that employees change jobs on average every 6 minutes. The chances of getting into the ‘flow’ state that is experienced as satisfying are of course low.

Lean administration provides a remedy here by drastically reducing queries and disruptions with the help of standardized processes and clearer distribution of roles and tasks. For example, recently 56% of the disruptions and queries could be eliminated in the HR department, there are comparable examples from other departments such as engineering, purchasing, logistics and much more. In addition to the value stream analysis, the activity structure and information structure analysis are also used here.

To be continued (Episode 5: Working in a team)