Wearable-based human flow experience recognition enhanced by transfer learning methods using emotion data.

BACKGROUND: Flow experience is a specific positive and affective state that occurs when humans are completely absorbed in an activity and forget everything else. This state can lead to high performance, well-being, and productivity at work. Few studies have been conducted to determine the human flow experience using physiological wearable sensor devices. Other studies rely on self-reported data. METHODS: In this article, we use physiological data collected from 25 subjects with multimodal sensing devices, in particular the Empatica E4 wristband, the Emotiv Epoc X electroencephalography (EEG) headset, and the Biosignalplux RespiBAN - in arithmetic and reading tasks to automatically discriminate between flow and non-flow states using feature engineering and deep feature learning approaches. The most meaningful wearable device for flow detection is determined by comparing the performances of each device. We also investigate the connection between emotions and flow by testing transfer learning techniques involving an emotion recognition-related task on the source domain. RESULTS: The EEG sensor modalities yielded the best performances with an accuracy of 64.97%, and a macro Averaged F1 (AF1) score of 64.95%. An accuracy of 73.63% and an AF1 score of 72.70% were obtained after fusing all sensor modalities from all devices. Additionally, our proposed transfer learning approach using emotional arousal classification on the DEAP dataset led to an increase in performances with an accuracy of 75.10% and an AF1 score of 74.92%. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that effective discrimination between flow and non-flow states is possible with multimodal sensor data. The success of transfer learning using the DEAP emotion dataset as a source domain indicates that emotions and flow are connected, and emotion recognition can be used as a latent task to enhance the performance of flow recognition.

The relationships of psychological capital and influence regulation with job satisfaction and job performance.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The individual difference predictors of positive work attitudes and behaviors have been widely investigated in the field of positive organizational scholarship. However, to date, integrating studies linking positive psychological resources, such as Psychological Capital and influence regulation, with positive organizational outcomes are still scarce. Thus, the main aim of the present study was to examine the relationships of Psychological Capital and influence regulation with job satisfaction and job performance both at the individual and team levels. METHODS: Within the cross-sectional multi-source research involving both team leaders and team members from 34 different teams, we examined the relationships of Psychological Capital and influence regulation with job satisfaction and job performance. The relationships of the study variables were based on the positive organizational behavior and the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, which suggest the positive relationships of distinct positive psychological resources with positive work outcomes. Accordingly, in addition to the widely accepted concept of Psychological Capital (PsyCap), we employed and analyzed the complimentary construct of influence regulation (i.e., the ability to intentionally share social influence with others in the workplace) both at the individual and group levels. RESULTS: The results of hierarchical linear modeling with 304 individuals from 34 teams from a diverse sample of Polish employees indicated that team members' PsyCap was positively linked to individual-level job satisfaction and two facets of job performance, i.e. creative performance and in-role performance. In contrast, no relationship was found between influence regulation and job satisfaction or job performance at both levels of analysis. CONCLUSION: With regard to positive interpersonal resources, the findings highlight the role of PsyCap in predicting job satisfaction and job performance and broaden the understanding of positivity in the workplace by introducing the construct of influence regulation. Also, based on the study results, managerial implications are discussed.

Optimism as a protective factor against the psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic through its effects on perceived stress and infection stress anticipation.

The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the recommended social isolation presented a challenge to people's mental health status. Optimism is a psychological factor that plays a key role in the evaluation of stressful situations. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating role of perceived stress and Covid-19-related stress anticipation in the relationship between optimism and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Our sample included 1015 participants ranging in age from 18 to 79 years, 80% of whom were Spaniards. At the beginning of the worldwide pandemic, participants were confined to their homes for at least seven days and completed an online survey measuring various sociodemographic and psychological variables. We found an indirect effect of optimism on intrusion and hyperarousal through perceived stress and stress anticipation. In addition, we observed an indirect effect of optimism on avoidance through perceived stress. Finally, the results showed a significant indirect effect of optimism on the total post-traumatic stress symptoms score through perceived stress and stress anticipation. Our results indicate that positive beliefs inherent to optimism are related to less psychological impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Symphony of Team Flow in Virtual Teams. Using Artificial Intelligence for Its Recognition and Promotion.

More and more teams are collaborating virtually across the globe, and the COVID-19 pandemic has further encouraged the dissemination of virtual teamwork. However, there are challenges for virtual teams - such as reduced informal communication - with implications for team effectiveness. Team flow is a concept with high potential for promoting team effectiveness, however its measurement and promotion are challenging. Traditional team flow measurements rely on self-report questionnaires that require interrupting the team process. Approaches in artificial intelligence, i.e., machine learning, offer methods to identify an algorithm based on behavioral and sensor data that is able to identify team flow and its dynamics over time without interrupting the process. Thus, in this article we present an approach to identify team flow in virtual teams, using machine learning methods. First of all, based on a literature review, we provide a model of team flow characteristics, composed of characteristics that are shared with individual flow and characteristics that are unique for team flow. It is argued that those characteristics that are unique for team flow are represented by the concept of collective communication. Based on that, we present physiological and behavioral correlates of team flow which are suitable - but not limited to - being assessed in virtual teams and which can be used as input data for a machine learning system to assess team flow in real time. Finally, we suggest interventions to support team flow that can be implemented in real time, in virtual environments and controlled by artificial intelligence. This article thus contributes to finding indicators and dynamics of team flow in virtual teams, to stimulate future research and to promote team effectiveness.

[Humiliation at work - theoretical concepts and importance for the health of workers and the functioning of the organisation]. / Upokorzenie w pracy ­ koncepcje teoretyczne oraz znaczenie dla zdrowia pracowników i funkcjonowania organizacji.

Humiliation at work is a dangerous and, at the same time, poorly understood phenomenon. It is associated with an asymmetry of power, which induces in the humiliated person a feeling of having a lesser value and being inferior. It manifests itself as an internal event (judgment and emotions), an external event (an act of violence) or systemic social conditions (poverty and discrimination). Experiencing humiliation has negative consequences both when an individual becomes a subject and a witness of a humiliating event. These consequences concern many areas of an individual's life and functioning within an organization. The article discusses the relationship between humiliation at the organizational level and work pathologies such as mobbing, intimidation, bullying, or harassment. Their purpose and effect is to humiliate an individual or a group of people, and since humiliation is associated with a sense of injustice and a desire for revenge, it often permanently disrupts the relationship between the parties and observers of such behaviors. Despite its individual and social significance, the phenomenon of humiliation is still a gap in the consideration of a healthy working environment and the relationship between people employed in the organization. Unlike in foreign literature, the phenomenon of humiliation is not a frequent subject of consideration in Polish studies, although interest has increased in recent years. The article proposes definitions of this phenomenon from 3 research perspectives, along with presenting selected concepts concerning the nature of this phenomenon and reports from research on the consequences of humiliating behavior at work, from the point of view of both an individual and an organization. Med Pr. 2021;72(1):61-8.

The Relationship Between Coping Strategies and Sleep Problems: The Role of Depressive Symptoms.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have proposed that coping strategies are a key predictor of sleep problems. Furthermore, some authors have suggested that depressive symptoms, a factor that is related to both coping strategies and sleep, may play a critical role in this relationship. However, this preliminary research has shown mixed results. PURPOSE: The aim of this research was to study the relationship between coping strategies (i.e., emotion-focused and problem-focused coping) and sleep, and investigate whether this relationship is direct or mediated by depressive symptoms. METHODS: Using a cross-sectional design, we tested this idea in a sample of 723 participants from the Midlife in the United States 2 study (mean age = 54.22 years, age range = 25-74 years, 54.40% females, 95.1% had at least a high school education). We applied mediation analyses with bootstrapped bias-corrected 95% confidence intervals to test total, direct, and indirect effects. Coping and depression were assessed using questionnaires. Objective and subjective sleep quantity and quality were measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, sleep diaries, and actigraphy. RESULTS: The results show that low emotion-focused coping and high problem-focused coping are associated with lower depressive symptoms, which, in turn, are associated with better objective and subjective sleep quality. Moreover, greater use of emotion-focused coping is related to more perceived sleep time. CONCLUSIONS: This study sheds light on the process of the development of sleep problems in people who use different coping strategies. It offers explanations for the association between emotion-focused and problem-focused coping and sleep problems, via depressive symptoms.