Happiness and Passion at Work: Finding the Common Thread in a Tangle of Definitions – A Conceptual Analysis

Abstract

Happiness and passion at work are two interrelated constructs, the importance of which has been acutely pronounced during the Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant social isolation. We examine the nomological network of the two concepts, including the differentiation of obsessive and harmonious passion at work and well-being. Despite increasing research and theoretical interest in each concept, different terms and classifications exist, resulting in inconstant nominal and operational definitions. In this paper, through a systematic scoping review of the ambiguity of existing terms and use of different concepts for similar meanings, we clarify and discuss the construction of happiness and passion at work, including their interrelationship and differences. Hence, we propose new theoretical definitions (nominal definitions) for each concept that contain all three dimensions. Future studies will be able to develop new indexes (operational definitions) using validity and reliability tests.