Why your passion for work could ruin your career (Harvard Business)

Stress, addiction to work, psychotherapy in London

That’s the title of a recent post on the Harvard Business Review blog.

Cognitive Scientist and Personality Psychologist (not to mention Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychology) at New York University, Scott Barry Kaufman highlights recent research that shows that whilst passion for one’s job may be thought to be desirable, not all forms are adaptive and some are “downright detrimental“.

Using Robert J Vallerand’s dualistic model of passion he distinguishes between two groups of workers: harmonious and obsessive.  

Which are you?

1. Harmonious passion

- engage in their work because it brings them intrinsic joy

- have a sense of control over their work

- know when to disengage

- can switch off when wishing to enjoy other activities

- can stop work when further engagement is too risky or would be detrimental

- do not feel guilty when they are not working

- work fits harmoniously with their other activities in life (i.e. there is no conflict between work and other activities)

On the other hand…

2. Obsessive passion

- view their work as representing a passion for them

- view their work as highly valued

- have an uncontrollable urge to engage in their work/ can’t help themselves

- experience conflict between their work and other activities in life

- are emotionally dependent on their job

- their mood is affected by whether or not they are able to work

 

Unsurprisingly, the two types have different outcomes:

Harmonious:

- higher levels of physical health

- greater psychological well-being

- better self-esteem

- positive emotions

- better creativity

- better concentration

- greater work satisfaction

- general positive feelings in the other areas of their lives over time

- protects against burnout

- more likely to be refreshed at work and ready to tackle new problems

- more flexible

- more likely to be successful

Obsessives:

- negative emotions over time concerning other areas of their life

- more maladaptive behaviours

- higher levels of negative feeling during and after engaging in activity

- hardly ever stop thinking about their work

- lower job satisfaction

- quite frustrated when prevented from working

- persist with working even when unsafe to do so (“like a pathological gambler”)

- greater negative self-image

- higher risk of burn-out

- rigidly persist

Kaufman suggests that the reason for these behaviours in obsessives is that their work forms a very large part of their self-concept.

To protect themselves, they display more self-protective behaviours, such as aggression, especially when their identity is threatened. 

Their persistence with work comes not from intrinsic joy, but rather from an unstable ego.

To read the article in full please click here

A sense of inner emptiness, a black hole or void brings many people to psychotherapy. It’s a very painful situation in which to find oneself.

If you feel your attitude to work is an attempt to keep inner pain at bay, you may wish to try psychotherapy. Click here to contact a psychotherapist in London.

 

 

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