Do You Know The Two Sides Of Passion For Work?
We have all had that feeling that time flies by when we do something we like, or that it is extremely slow when doing activities that we do not like. Thus, the perception of the passage of time is inevitably linked to our present emotional state.
Furthermore, this happens to us in different situations and in different settings, such as at work. When someone speaks passionately about their work, you can see that they enjoy it and that they are involved. However, a person who does not like his job reports that it is difficult for him to go to work and the days seem eternal. We know this from popular knowledge, now, what has psychology found in relation to the passion for work? Find out!
Harmonic passion and obsessive passion for work
But what is passion? Would anyone know how to define it? Passion is a strong inclination towards an activity that we like and that results in a feeling of well-being when we practice it. In this way, we invest a lot of time and energy in it. Thus, it can become something highly valued that becomes part of one’s own identity, going on to self-define the person.
Now, is passion good or bad for us? To understand the positive or negative effects it can have, Vallerand and his team (2012) propose to distinguish between harmonic and obsessive passion. Harmonic passion would be one that allows the person to choose to tackle a highly important activity, but without being overwhelming. In other words, it also leaves room for other vital interests.
However, obsessive passion comes to frustrate us. The difference is that it does not leave space for other activities or interferes in the state that they produce us. Thus, the person persists in carrying it out rigidly, without allowing himself to be flexible, thus sowing the seeds of negative emotions that will soon germinate. It also entails costs on a personal level, by neglecting other tasks or roles.
The benefits of harmonic passion for work
What harmonic passion for work does is facilitate emotional energy and job satisfaction. Why? Because it allows you to perform the corresponding tasks flexibly. In this way, this type of passion can lead to “engagement”. What is this? It is the desire to invest effort in the work that is being done even if difficulties appear, making it easier for the person to carry out the activity with high levels of energy and mental resistance.
Engagement provokes in people feelings of significance, enthusiasm, inspiration, pride and challenge for the job. In other words, it entails a high degree of enjoyment and concentration, which leads to the feeling that time “flies by” when we are working.
But in addition to this, the harmonic passion for work has a very beneficial effect on our health, both physical and mental. It is not that it simply “only” produces positive emotions, it also protects us from work exhaustion or “burnout” syndrome. In fact, workers with harmonious passion are more resistant to emotional exhaustion.
These people report experiencing more well-being and happiness, feeling more satisfied in different areas. For example, they have been found to have greater control at work, in addition to higher performance and greater creativity. Thus, it seems that experiencing passion for work in a balanced way has highly beneficial effects for employees.
The dangers of obsessive passion for work
Obsessive passion for work has a very clear effect: it prevents us from disconnecting from it even if we are doing other activities. In fact, it is related to work addiction. This inability to mentally withdraw from work tasks negatively affects our long-term endeavor.
So much so that, although more hours are dedicated to work, attention levels fall, perceived stress increases and difficulties appear to reconcile work and family life. Thus, it is not difficult to imagine that these people have higher levels of emotional exhaustion, depression and burnout, reducing feelings of happiness.
But the negative consequences do not stop there, they continue even after finishing working life and retiring. At this stage, these people show a worse psychological adjustment, since they do not see all their needs covered. Therefore, they report feeling less satisfied with life.
That said, it is necessary to emphasize that it is good to have a passion for work, but it must be harmonious so that we benefit from all the positive effects it has for us. Of course, we must be careful, so that this passion does not reach obsessive levels that place us on the other side of the coin.
Images courtesy of Ian Schneider, Carl Heyerdahl, and Javier Molina.
