Chapter 7: Passion at Work: Toward a New Conceptualization

The purpose of this chapter is to present a new conceptualization on passion (Vallerand, Blanchard et al., in press) and show its applicability to the realm of work and organizations. Passion is defined as a strong inclination toward an activity that people like, that they find important, and in which they invest time and energy. Two types of passion are proposed: obsessive and harmonious. Obsessive passion refers to a controlled internalization of an activity in one's identity that creates an internal pressure to engage in the activity that the person likes. On the other hand, harmonious passion refers to an autonomous internalization that leads individuals to choose to engage in the activity that they like. Harmonious passion promotes healthy adaptation whereas obsessive passion thwarts it by causing negative affect and rigid persistence. Results from a series of studies are presented, including some conducted in the work domain. Directions for future research are suggested.