Back in the distant past, job candidates had interests or hobbies. For example, reading a book was a perfectly acceptable way of spending your spare time. No longer. Today you will probably be asked if you have a "personal passion project", and the more exhausting your answer sounds, the better.
Passion is becoming basic for workplace success. A new piece of research from Jon Jachimowicz and Hannah Weisman of Harvard Business School includes an analysis of 200 million job postings in America. It finds that the number which mentions "passion" rose over time, from 2% in 2007 to 16% in 2019.
On the surface this makes sense. Better, surely, for an employee to be enthusiastic than not. Most workers want to do a job they love; most companies want a workforce that is committed and motivated.
But passion can affect judgment. For firms, the obvious danger is rewarding commitment over competence. The super-keen employee who volunteers for everything may not be that great at their job. Some research finds that passion may indeed be blinding managers to reality: it finds that even when the performance of passionate employees is on the downward slope, they are still more likely to be given promotions than peers who tend not to say much.
There are only so many ways to communicate passion. Widening your eyes and nodding wildly: too weird. Jumping, cheering and sweating: even weirder. Working ever longer hours, on the other hand, is a fairly simple way to show that your commitment is beyond question.
It is great to feel passion for your job. But if you are up at 4 am for a meeting with Asia, constantly working on your holiday or have just been handed a mop (抹布) and a bucket by your boss, you are in the grasp of something that is not entirely healthy.
