The Experience Sampling Method was employed to collect data from a sample of 35 sixth-form college students over a period of one week. This methodology involved the subjects answering questions printed in a diary on receipt of signals from a pre-programmed watch. They also completed a package of questionnaires related to psychological well-being. The aim of the study was to investigate whether the experience of situations where high challenge is matched by skill (termed 'flow ') can be classed as 'optimal experience'. The results showed that the positive poles of subjective experience tended to cluster in 'control ' (skills exceeding moderate challenge) rather than flow. However, more optimal experience (considered as high enjoyment) occurred in flow than expected. In addition, optimal experience in flow was characterized by high cognitive involvement. Subjects who experienced flow as optimal experience were found to score significantly higher on measures of psychological well-being than those who did not experience flow as highly enjoyable. The implications are discussed with respect to college students' quality of life and educational experiences.Of an original sample of 45, 35 subjects (78 per cent) filled in 70 per cent or more signals. Only those filling in 70 per cent or more signals were included in the analysis.

Both work and leisure are essential for well-being. Yet the ways in which we conceptualise work, leisure and well-being are in flux, reflecting, in part, the changing societal, economic and community contexts in which work and leisure take place. This paper first discusses the contested nature of work and leisure in relation to well-being, and then considers current evidence concerning the ways in which work and leisure are experienced in contemporary society. The emerging issues are then discussed drawing on two international studies which indicate the increasingly global nature of these concerns. The pervasiveness of the trend towards intensification of work, reducing time and energy for other activities, and the gendered impact of this trend are evident in both studies. Many commentators have noted the negative effects of current working patterns on well-being. Finally, some implications for guidance and counselling as well as future research, are explored.

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