Are you passionate about your work?Here’s Why It Might Not Be Good For You

You may want to be more passionate about your work. Or at least having a job that you could imagine to be passionate about. Something like jumping out of bed in the morning excited for a new day full of fist pumps and joy.

However, psychologists distinguish between two types of work-related passions. Even if you’re a little tired of your current role, it’s possible that neither of you are attractive.

A “harmonious” work passion refers to a situation in which a person not only enjoys their work, but also has control over their relationship with it.People with a passion for harmonious work often career Because it’s something they’re interested in, and they derive great pleasure from how they make a living.

However, people with a “compulsive” work passion have little control over their relationship with their work. They see their jobs and related factors such as promotions and pay raises as central to their lives.

Relentlessly passionate people rarely turn completely away from their work, and although they may be very successful at what they do, they often find it unsatisfying. The approach can be life-threatening, lead to burnoutwhen you are physically and mentally tiredand feel helpless and trapped.

So how do you ensure that you are filled with the right kind of passion? If you have a compulsive passion for work, is it you or the job? our research suggests Probably both.

To study the relationship between personality traits, jobs, and the types of passions people have, we analyzed the following data. psychology project We collected data and test results from over 800 participants.

In psychology, webig five”: openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.

It also uses how much you agree or disagree with a series of statements such as “My work is in harmony with the other activities of my life” and “I have difficulty controlling my urges to work”. and evaluated their attitudes towards their work.

Finally, we categorized their work as follows: system Score different types of work according to six descriptions: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. (you can use this online test To know what kind of job you are looking for. )

passion killer

Our findings suggest that personality traits (especially neuroticism) interact with the work environment in complex ways, triggering different types of passion. In particular, people prone to neuroticism (mood swings, anxiety, and irritability) are much more likely to develop a passion for obsessive work if they work in the “enterprising” category. . In general, these are careers that rely heavily on persuasion and value reputation, power, and status.

For example, people who agree with statements such as “I get upset easily” and “I worry about many things at the same time” are more likely to become burnout if they work as lawyers, fundraisers, or brokers. , dentists, engineers, nurses, surgeons, or social workers, that same person is less likely to be absorbed in their work.

In that case, it’s important to understand what kind of passion you have for your work. Are you enjoying your success? If the answer is no, or if there are other signs that your passion for work is relentless, you might want to consider changing direction to avoid the risk of burnout.

In the example above, that could mean trying to find a role that doesn’t have a more enterprising element. Perhaps more artistic or social. You may not be able to change your personality, but changing your job can make you feel more satisfied and in control, and can give you more time to feel passionate about the world outside of work.

This article by Taha Yaseri, Associate Professor, Faculty of Sociology.Geary Fellow, Geary Institute for Public Policy University College DublinReprinted from conversation Under Creative Commons License.read Original work.