Consumed by obsession: Career adaptability resources and the performance consequences of obsessive passion and harmonious passion for work

Abstract

Does passion predict performance? Whereas harmonious passion is typically associated with strong performance, evidence for the obsessive passion-performance relationship has been so far inconclusive. The mixed results in the literature suggest that there are hitherto unexamined boundary conditions and mechanisms shaping the relationship between obsessive passion and performance. This study draws on principles from conservation of resources and the dual-systems model of self-regulation to explain how these two types of passion (obsessive and harmonious) relate to work performance. We examined career adaptability as a buffer that determines when and for whom obsessive passion precipitates emotional exhaustion as well as when and for whom emotional exhaustion diminishes work performance. This proposed moderated mediation model was tested in two multisource samples in corporate ( N = 139 employee-supervisor dyads) and healthcare sectors ( N = 156 time-lagged employee-peer dyads) respectively. We observed support for the proposed model in both samples. Career adaptability prevents obsessively passionate workers from being consumed by obsession.

The Moderator Role of Passion for Work in the Association between Work Stressors and Secondary Traumatic Stress: A Cross‐Level Diary Study among Health Professionals of Intensive Care Units

“…In other words, even small levels of obsessive passion may be related to higher levels of daily symptomatology when daily work stressors are higher. These findings support Amarnani and colleagues’ (2019) argument that established obsessive passionate workers are less able to recover their loss of resources due to their intense focus on work. In contrast, we do not find a diminishment in daily symptomatology in those with low obsessive passion, which may support new findings on the topic in which being fully engaged and passionate toward one’s work should be positive, regardless of the type of passion (Yukhymenko‐Lescroart et al, 2019).…”

“…Thus, we confirmed Hypothesis 1c. On the other hand, obsessive passion seems to have a direct and positive relationship with symptomatology, resulting in it being a risk factor (Amarnani et al, 2019). Following the scientific literature, obsessive passion has been demonstrated to be related to negative outcomes, such as work/ family conflict, rumination, less job satisfaction, and less recovery (Tr epanier et al, 2014), which may be related to more symptomatology due to difficulties in disengaging from work, and increased time of exposure to daily work stressors.…”

“…Another possible explanation, as supported by Foster, Sloto, and Ruby (2006), could be the greater mismatch between professionals’ beliefs and traumatic events they witness working in the ICU, being greater when they spend more time working in these units, thus, translated into more years of work experience. Moreover, dispositional obsessive passion for work was a positive and significant predictor of shattered assumptions, which may be explained by its own associated processes such as rumination and more family/work conflict, which have been directly related to emotional exhaustion (Amarnani, Lajom, Restubog, & Capezio, 2019) and may affect professionals’ increased likelihood of shattered assumptions.…”

“…Undoubtedly, more research needs to focus on the emotional processes of harmonious and obsessive passions (Amarnani et al, 2019) and how they interact in ICU settings. For this reason, we should pay more attention to important variables involved in such settings, such as empathy, work–family conflict, and emotional effort in order to continue improving our knowledge about STS in these specific contexts.…”

The Role of Healthcare Professionals’ Passion in Predicting Secondary Traumatic Stress and Posttraumatic Growth in the Face of COVID-19: A Longitudinal Approach

“…On the other hand, obsessive passion involves a huge amount of time and effort in work, impeding a great balance between personal life and work. Although the negative consequence of obsessive passion still remains unclear [ 32 , 33 ], it has been generally related to more rumination, negative affect, and in turn, more burnout [ 34 , 35 ].…”