My boss' passion matters as much as my own: The interpersonal dynamics of passion are a critical driver of performance evaluations

Abstract

Summary Companies often celebrate employees who successfully pursue their passion. Academic research suggests that these positive evaluations occur because of the passion percolating inside the employee. We propose that supervisors are also a key piece of this puzzle: Supervisors who are more successful in their own pursuit of passion place more value on passion in their performance evaluations. This produces an interpersonal dynamic whereby employees who are more successful in pursuing their passion may receive higher performance ratings when their supervisors are also more successful in pursuing their passion. We provide support for this core hypothesis across a crowdsourced study with a heterogeneous sample (N = 106 subordinate–supervisor dyads), a field study with a financial services company (N = 321 subordinate–supervisor dyads), and a laboratory experiment (N = 205) that offers both causal and mediating evidence. Crucially, we demonstrate that this interpersonal dynamic is specific to passion and does not apply to less observable motivations (intrinsic and extrinsic motivation). These results demonstrate that supervisors who successfully pursue their passion may overvalue passion relative to other valuable attributes, leading to potential bias. They also give a new perspective on managing upward: Employees may further their own careers by helping their supervisors pursue their passion.

Start with why: The transfer of work meaningfulness from leaders to followers and the role of dyadic tenure

“…This interest has materialized in a widespread societal imperative for leaders to be authentic role models (Eldor, 2021) and a surge of research into how leaders' personal experiences and characteristics feed into the way they lead followers. Examples include investigation into the transfer of leader passion (Ho & Astakhova, 2020; Jachimowicz et al, 2021), leader regulatory focus (Johnson et al, 2017), and leader citizenship behaviors (Yaffe & Kark, 2011). This research suggests that an essential prerequisite for leaders to stimulate (positive) work experiences in their followers is to have that same experience themselves.…”

Does the follow-your-passions ideology cause greater academic and occupational gender disparities than other cultural ideologies?

“…American college students believe that selecting an academic major that fits their passions is more important than selecting a major based on other criteria (e.g., financial success, psychological benefits; Beggs et al, 2008). Job applicants and employees who convey passion for their work are perceived as more competent, hirable, and successful by Americans than those who do not convey such passion (Bencharit et al, 2019; Jachimowicz et al, 2022; Wolf et al, 2016).…”

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“…Journalists tend to feel more strain in their work when their work expectations require hidden, unanticipated labor: such as when journalists need explain fringe practices of journalism such as the editorial endorsement or need integrate a new form of innovation with little or no training (Ferrucci & Perreault, 2021). Yet on the other hand, there is some indication that journalists' emotional labor is responsive to their relationship with their boss (Jachimowicz et al, 2021).…”