Pitfalls and Inequalities Complicating the Pursuit of Passion

Pursuing passion for work is highly valuable to both employees and their organizations. However, many employees struggle to pursue and maintain their passion over time, a challenge which may be exacerbated by underlying inequalities. The papers in this symposium demonstrate the pitfalls and underlying inequalities which complicate the pursuit of passion. Across four presentations, we show that (1) the experience of passion is fundamentally self-limiting, that (2) employees do not give up on a job with poor working conditions because of their passion, (3) gender inequalities in the household place an additional burden on women’s pursuit of passion, and (4) mid-performing passionate men are better evaluated than mid-performing passionate women. Together, these presentations recast our understanding of passion, demonstrating that passion can at times drain employees, and may even exacerbate underlying inequalities. Challenge of Maintaining Passion for Work Over Time: A Dynamic Perspective on Passion and Exhaustion Presenter: Joy Bredehorst; Boston Consulting Group Presenter: Kai Krautter; Harvard U. Presenter: Jirs Meuris; U. of Wisconsin-Madison Presenter: Jon Michael Jachimowicz; Harvard Business School People that Give Up on a Passion Overestimate the Negativity of Observers’ Judgments Presenter: Zachariah Berry; Cornell U. Presenter: Brian J. Lucas; Cornell U. How Daily Passion-Fueled Increases in Working Hours Exacerbate Gender Inequality Presenter: Kai Krautter; Harvard U. Presenter: Megan Gorges; Harvard Business School Presenter: Zachariah Berry; Cornell U. Presenter: Sarah Ward; U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Presenter: Jon Michael Jachimowicz; Harvard Business School Perceptions of Passion Boost the Status and Potential of Average-Performing Men Only Presenter: Joyce He; U. of California, Los Angeles Presenter: Celia Moore; Imperial College Business School