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.
AspinwallLGTaylorSE (1997) A stitch in time: Self-regulation and proactive coping. Psychological Bulletin121(3): 417–436.
2.
AstakhovaMN (2015) The curvilinear relationship between work passion and organizational citizenship behavior. Journal of Business Ethics130(2): 361–374.
3.
AstakhovaMNPorterG (2015) Understanding the work passion–performance relationship: The mediating role of organizational identification and moderating role of fit at work. Human Relations68(8): 1315–1346.
4.
BaileyD (2000) Valerius Maximus: Memorable Doings. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
5.
BakkerABDemeroutiESanz-VergelAI (2014) Burnout and work engagement: The JD–R approach. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior1(1): 389–411.
6.
BealDJWeissHMBarrosEMacDermidS (2005) An episodic process model of affective influences on performance. Journal of Applied Psychology90(6): 1054–1068.
7.
BélangerJJLafrenièreMAKVallerandRJKruglanskiAW (2013a) Driven by fear: The effect of success and failure information on passionate individuals’ performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology104(1): 180–195.
8.
BélangerJJLafrenièreMAKVallerandRJKruglanskiAW (2013b) When passion makes the heart grow colder: The role of passion in alternative goal suppression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology104(1): 126–147.
9.
BinnewiesCSonnentagSMojzaEJ (2009) Daily performance at work: Feeling recovered in the morning as a predictor of day-level job performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior30(1): 67–93.
10.
Bonneville-RoussyALavigneGLVallerandRJ (2011) When passion leads to excellence: The case of musicians. Psychology of Music39(1): 123–138.
11.
BouizegareneNBourdeauSLeducC (2018) We are our passions: The role of identity processes in harmonious and obsessive passion and links to optimal functioning in society. Self & Identity17(1): 56–74.
12.
BransonR (2015) The Virgin Way. New York: Penguin.
13.
BrewerEShapardL (2004) Employee burnout: A meta-analysis of the relationship between age or years of experience. Human Resource Development Review3(2): 102–123.
14.
Buyukgoze-KavasA (2014) Validation of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale-Turkish Form and its relation to hope and optimism. Australian Journal of Career Development23(3): 125–132.
15.
CarpentierJMageauGAVallerandRJ (2012) Ruminations and flow: Why do people with a more harmonious passion experience higher well-being?Journal of Happiness Studies13(3): 501–518.
16.
CaudroitJBoicheJStephanY, et al. (2011) Predictors of work/family interference and leisure-time physical activity among teachers: The role of passion towards work. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology20(3): 326–344.
17.
CotterWFouadNA (2013) Examining burnout and engagement in layoff survivors: The role of personal strengths. Journal of Career Development40(5): 424–444.
18.
CrockerJWolfeCT (2001) Contingencies of self-worth. Psychological Review108(3): 593–623.
19.
CurranTHillAPAppletonPRVallerandRJStandageM (2015) The psychology of passion: A meta-analytical review of a decade of research on intrapersonal outcomes. Motivation and Emotion39(5): 631–655.
20.
DawsonJF (2014) Moderation in management research: What, why, when, and how. Journal of Business and Psychology29(1): 1–19.
21.
DonahueEGForestJVallerandRJ, et al. (2012) Passion for work and emotional exhaustion: The mediating role of rumination and recovery. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being4(3): 341–368.
22.
DuffyRDouglassRAutinK (2015) Career adaptability and academic satisfaction: Examining work volition and self efficacy as mediators. Journal of Vocational Behavior90: 46–54.
23.
EdwardsJLambertL (2007) Methods for integrating moderation and mediation: A general framework using moderated path analysis. Psychological Methods12(1): 1–22.
24.
EnnenERichterA (2010) The whole is more than the sum of its parts—or is it? A review of the empirical literature on complementarities in organizations. Journal of Management36(1): 207–233.
25.
FeldmanMWorlineM (2011) Resources, resourcing and ampliative cycles in organizations. In: SpreitzerGMCameronKS (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Positive Organizational Scholarship. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
26.
FioriMBollmannGRossierJ (2015) Exploring the path through which career adaptability increases job satisfaction and lowers job stress: The role of affect. Journal of Vocational Behavior91: 113–121.
27.
ForestJMageauGASarrazinCMorinEM (2011) “Work is my passion”: The different affective, behavioural, and cognitive consequences of harmonious and obsessive passion toward work. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences28(1): 27–40.
28.
FrieseMHofmannW (2009) Control me or I will control you: Impulses, trait self-control, and the guidance of behavior. Journal of Research in Personality43(5): 795–805.
29.
GrandeyAACropanzanoR (1999) The conservation of resources model applied to work–family conflict and strain. Journal of Vocational Behavior54(2): 350–370.
30.
HalbeslebenJRBBowlerWM (2007) Emotional exhaustion and job performance: The mediating role of motivation. Journal of Applied Psychology92(1): 93–106.
31.
HalbeslebenJRBuckleyMR (2004) Burnout in organizational life. Journal of Management30(6): 859–879.
32.
HalbeslebenJRHarveyJBolinoMC (2009) Too engaged? A conservation of resources view of the relationship between work engagement and work interference with family. Journal of Applied Psychology94(6): 1452–1465.
33.
HalbeslebenJRBNeveuJ-PPaustian-UnderdahlSCWestmanM (2014) Getting to the “COR”: Understanding the role of resources in conservation of resources theory. Journal of Management40(5): 1334–1364.
34.
HirschiAHermanAKellerA (2015) Career adaptivity, adaptability, and adapting: A conceptual and empirical investigation. Journal of Vocational Behavior87: 1–10.
35.
HoVTAstakhovaMN (2018) Disentangling passion and engagement: An examination of how and when passionate employees become engaged ones. Human Relations71(7): 973–1000.
36.
HoVTWongSLeeC (2011) A tale of passion: Linking job passion and cognitive engagement to employee work performance. Journal of Management Studies48(1): 26–47.
37.
HobfollSE (2001) The influence of culture, community, and the nested-self in the stress process: Advancing conservation of resources theory. Applied Psychology50(3): 337–421.
38.
HoffmanBLanceCEBynumBGentryWA (2010) Rater source effects are alive and well after all. Personnel Psychology63(1): 119–151.
39.
HofmannWFrieseMStrackF (2009) Impulse and self-control from a dual-systems perspective. Perspectives on Psychological Science4(2): 162–176.
40.
HofmannWVan DillenL (2012) Desire: The new hot spot in self-control research. Current Directions in Psychological Science21(5): 317–322.
41.
HoulfortNPhilippeFVallerandRMénardJ (2013) On passion and heavy work investment: Personal and organizational outcomes. Journal of Managerial Psychology29(1): 25–45.
42.
IsaacsonW (2012) The leadership lessons of Steve Jobs. Available at: goo.gl/LRVnWW (accessed 15 November 2017).
43.
JohnsG (2006) The essential impact of context on organizational behavior. Academy of Management Review31(2): 386–408.
44.
KendallJ (2013) What a 19th century “googler” can tell us about today’s obsessive CEOs. Wired. 2September. Available at: goo.gl/mGKHzh (accessed 15 November 2017).
45.
KoenJKleheUVan VianenA (2012) Training career adaptability to facilitate a successful school-to-work transition. Journal of Vocational Behavior81(3): 395–408.
46.
KotabeHPHofmannW (2015) On integrating the components of self-control. Perspectives on Psychological Science10(5): 618–638.
47.
KulkarniMGopakumarKV (2014) Career management strategies of people with disabilities. Human Resource Management53(3): 445–466.
48.
LajomJAmarnaniRRestubogS, et al. (2018) Dualistic passion for work and its impact on career outcomes: Scale validation and nomological network. Journal of Career Assessment26(4): 631–648.
49.
LiangLHLianHBrownDJ, et al. (2016) Why are abusive supervisors abusive? A dual-system self-control model. Academy of Management Journal59(4): 1385–1406.
50.
LondonMKlimoskiRJ (1975) A study of perceived job complexity. Personnel Psychology28(1): 45–56.
51.
McGuireWJ (1997) Creative hypothesis generating in psychology: Some useful heuristics. Annual Review of Psychology48(1): 1–30.
52.
MaslachCJacksonSE (1981) The measurement of experienced burnout. Journal of Organizational Behavior2(2): 99–113.
53.
MuravenMShmueliDBurkleyE (2006) Conserving self-control strength. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology91(3): 524.
54.
NetemeyerRBolesJMcMurrianR (1996) Development and validation of work–family conflict and family–work conflict scales. Journal of Applied Psychology81(4): 400–410.
55.
OhmeMZacherH (2015) Job performance ratings: The relative importance of mental ability, conscientiousness, and career adaptability. Journal of Vocational Behavior87: 161–170.
56.
PenneyLMHunterEMPerrySJ (2011) Personality and counterproductive work behaviour: Using conservation of resources theory to narrow the profile of deviant employees. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology84(1): 58–77.
57.
PerrewéPLHochwarterWAFerrisGR, et al. (2014) Developing a passion for work passion: Future directions on an emerging construct. Journal of Organizational Behavior35(1): 145–150.
58.
PetrouPDemeroutiESchaufeliW (2018) Crafting the change: The role of job crafting behaviors for successful organizational change. Journal of Management44(5): 1766–1792.
59.
Philippine Commission on Women (2014) Policy report. Available at: goo.gl/EpBQfm (accessed 15 November 2017).
60.
PodsakoffPMMacKenzieSBLeeJ-YPodsakoffNP (2003) Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology88(5): 879–903.
61.
PorfeliEJSavickasML (2012) Career Adapt-Abilities Scale-USA Form: Psychometric properties and relation to vocational identity. Journal of Vocational Behavior80(3): 748–753.
62.
PraskovaAHoodMCreedPA (2014) Testing a calling model of psychological career success in Australian young adults: A longitudinal study. Journal of Vocational Behavior85(1): 125–135.
63.
PurvanovaRKMurosJP (2010) Gender differences in burnout: A meta-analysis. Journal of Vocational Behavior77(2): 168–185.
64.
RudolphCWLavigneKNZacherH (2017) Career adaptability: A meta-analysis of relationships with measures of adaptivity, adapting responses, and adaptation results. Journal of Vocational Behavior98: 17–34.
65.
RyanRMDeciEL (2008) From ego depletion to vitality: Theory and findings concerning the facilitation of energy available to the self. Social and Personality Psychology Compass2(2): 702–717.
66.
SantilliSNotaLGinevraMC, et al. (2014) Career adaptability, hope and life satisfaction in workers with intellectual disability. Journal of Vocational Behavior85(1): 67–74.
67.
SavickasML (2002) Career construction: A developmental theory of vocational behavior. In: BrownD (ed.) Career Choice and Development (4th edition). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 149–205.
68.
SavickasMPorfeliE (2012) Career Adapt-Abilities Scale: Construction, reliability, and measurement across 13 countries. Journal of Vocational Behavior80(3): 661–673.
69.
ShafferJADeGeestDLiA (2016) Tackling the problem of construct proliferation: A guide to assessing the discriminant validity of conceptually related constructs. Organizational Research Methods19(1): 80–110.
70.
SibunruangHGarciaPRJMTolentinoLR (2016) Ingratiation as an adapting strategy: Its relationship with career adaptability, career sponsorship, and promotability. Journal of Vocational Behavior92: 135–144.
71.
SiemsenERothAOliveiraP (2010) Common method bias in regression models with linear, quadratic, and interaction effects. Organizational Research Methods13(3): 456–476.
72.
St-LouisAVernerJBergeronCVallerandR (2018) Passion and mindfulness: Accessing adaptive self-processes. Journal of Positive Psychology13(2): 155–164.
73.
StensengFRiseJKraftP (2011) The dark side of leisure, obsessive passion and its covariates and outcomes. Leisure Studies30(1): 49–62.
74.
ThorgrenSWincentJSirénC (2013) The influence of passion and work–life thoughts on work satisfaction. Human Resource Development Quarterly24(4): 469–492.
75.
TolentinoLRGarciaPRJMRestubogSLD, et al. (2013) Validation of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale and an examination of a model of career adaptation in the Philippine context. Journal of Vocational Behavior83(3): 410–418.
76.
TrépanierS-GFernetCAustinSForestJVallerandRJ (2013) Linking job demands and resources to burnout and work engagement: Does passion underlie these differential relationships?Motivation and Emotion38(3): 353–366.
77.
UnsworthKYeoGBeckJ (2014) Multiple goals: A review and derivation of general principles. Journal of Organizational Behavior35(8): 1064–1078.
78.
VallerandRJ (2015) The Psychology of Passion: A Dualistic Model. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
79.
VallerandRJBlanchardCMageauG, et al. (2003) Les passions de l’âme: On obsessive and harmonious passion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology85(4): 756–767.
80.
VallerandRJMageauGElliotA, et al. (2008) Passion and performance attainment in sport. Psychology of Sport & Exercise9(3): 373–392.
81.
VallerandRJSalvySMageauGA, et al. (2007) On the role of passion in performance. Journal of Personality75(3): 505–534.
82.
Van VianenAEKleheUCKoenJDriesN (2012) Career adapt-abilities scale—Netherlands form: Psychometric properties and relationships to ability, personality, and regulatory focus. Journal of Vocational Behavior80(3): 716–724.
83.
VazireS (2006) Informant reports: A cheap, fast, and easy method for personality assessment. Journal of Research in Personality40(5): 472–481.
84.
WilliamsLAndersonS (1991) Job satisfaction and organizational commitment as predictors of organizational citizenship and in-role behaviors. Journal of Management17(3): 601–617.
85.
WirtzNRigottiTOttoKLoebC (2017) What about the leader? Crossover of emotional exhaustion and work engagement from followers to leaders. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology22(1): 86–97.
86.
YuenMYauJ (2015) Relation of career adaptability to meaning in life and connectedness among adolescents in Hong Kong. Journal of Vocational Behavior91: 147–156.
87.
ZacherH (2015) Daily manifestations of career adaptability: Relationships with job and career outcomes. Journal of Vocational Behavior91: 76–86.
