Passion for work

• Passion


  A strong inclination toward a specific object, activity, concept or person that one loves (or at least strongly likes), highly values, invests time and energy in on a regular basis, and that is part of one's identity
• The scientific field of passion opened up in 2003
• The construct of passion dates back to the ancient Greeks
• Passion


  Not a short-lived emotion, but a motivational construct that provides high level of energy, effort and persistence during engagement with the activity, and at times, following engagement in it
• Harmonious Passion (HP)


  Under the person's control, is in harmony with aspects of the self and the person's life, and leads to adaptive outcomes
• Obsessive Passion (OP)


  Controls the person, conflicts with elements of the person's self and life, and leads to less adaptive, and at times maladaptive, outcomes
• Flow is an immersive engagement that is a byproduct of passion, mainly from Harmonious Passion (HP)
• Passion is more similar to intrinsic motivation than job engagement, commitment or extrinsic motivation
• Harmonious Passion (HP)


  • The activity occupies a significant but not overpowering space in identity, it is in harmony with other aspects of life, flexible behavioral engagement, the person is in control of the activity, leads to positive outcomes during and after task engagement
• Obsessive Passion (OP)


  • Controls the person, it is in conflict with other aspects of life, some benefits (e.g. high performance) but also lower level of functioning within the confines of the passionate activity and in other aspects of life, frustration and rumination when prevented
• Harmonious Passion (HP)


  Facilitates concentration and attention, conducive to flow, leads to more positive emotions and higher work satisfaction
• Obsessive Passion (OP)


  Unrelated or negatively related to concentration and attention, not conducive to flow, leads to more negative emotions and lower work satisfaction
• Both Harmonious Passion (HP) and Obsessive Passion (OP)


  Predict high performance, but the process is quite different
• Harmonious Passion (HP)


  Leads to better quality relationships at work through more positive emotions
• Obsessive Passion (OP)


  Leads to poorer relationships at work through more negative emotions
• Harmonious Passion (HP)


  Leads to adaptive outcomes in one's life in general, protects against ill-being
• Obsessive Passion (OP)


  Leads to maladaptive outcomes in one's life in general, contributes to burnout and work-family conflict
• Activity selection


  Choosing one activity over others with a strong willful inclination
• Activity valuation


  Subjective importance given to an activity
• Internalization of the activity in identity

  Autonomous internalization process or controlled internalization process
• Autonomy support


  • Behavior that provides another person autonomy while engaging in an activity, triggers Harmonious Passion (HP)
• Controlling social environments


  • Forcing another person to behave in a certain way, triggers Obsessive Passion (OP)
• Autonomous personality


  • Associated with Harmonious Passion (HP)
• Controlled personality


  • Associated with Obsessive Passion (OP)
• Informational identity style


  • Allows people to perform a thorough exploration process of identity options and to flexibly modify their self-images, associated with Harmonious Passion (HP)
• Normative identity style


  • Associated with the internalization of others' beliefs and values and prevalent social norms, associated with Obsessive Passion (OP)
• Self-oriented perfectionism


  • A more adapted form, striving for perfection, associated with Harmonious Passion (HP)
• Socially prescribed perfectionism


  • A less adapted form, striving for the conditional acceptance of others, associated with Obsessive Passion (OP)
• Signature strengths


  • Individuals' most highly endorsed personal strengths, trying to be the best one can be at passionate activity fosters Harmonious Passion (HP) and high-level performance
• Emotional intelligence


  • Being more in tune with one's emotions and values and those of others, associated with Harmonious Passion (HP)
• Practical application to foster Harmonious Passion (HP) in the workplace

  1. Providing autonomy support

  2. Transformational leadership style

  3. Open and communicative interactive style

  4. Providing additional resources to face work demands and experience success

  5. Creating an open organizational culture where people can interact with supervisors and colleagues

  6. Sharing time at lunch and after hours
• Practical application to reduce Obsessive Passion (OP)

  1. Using personal strengths to satisfy the need for competence and perform well

  2. Finding ways to diminish negativity or escape problems in other aspects of life

  3. Including another passionate activity

  4. Reducing burnout and other negative outcomes
• Self


  The reflexive process by which a self-concept is formed
• Self-concept/me


  The product of a reflexive process of self, how we see ourselves at a specific point in time
• Identity


  A core element in passion, powerful motivators of behavior, providing a bridge linking self-concept to the social world
• Identity Control Theory

  • Activation of an identity, feedback loop comparing inputs from the social environment with internalized standards or behavior, regulation of behavior or standards to achieve congruency between feedback and standards
• Often we do not experience ourselves directly, but rather indirectly from the standpoints of other members in social groups, through "reflective appraisals"
• The development and evolution of passion can be linked to the evaluations and reactions of others
• Self


  The painter, he evaluates the painting
• Self-concept


  The painting