On the nature, predictors, and outcomes of work passion profiles: A generalisability study across distinct types of employees

Abstract

Thus far, little research has adopted a person‐centred approach to investigate the nature of work passion profiles. As a result, our understanding of the most commonly occurring combinations of harmonious passion (HP) and obsessive passion (OP) in the workplace remains limited. To achieve a more refined understanding of the nature of these work passion profiles, our first aim was thus to identify the configurations of HP and OP for work observed among five samples, including 11 subsamples, of employees (N = 7258). Then, we also considered the extent to which these profiles and their associations with theoretically‐relevant predictors (work‐home segmentation and organisational support) and outcomes (work engagement, work‐family conflict, turnover intentions, presenteeism, and counterproductive work behaviours) generalised across all subsamples. We identified a total of five profiles with a structure that differed slightly across samples: High OP Dominant, High HP Dominant, Average HP Dominant, Low HP Dominant (i.e., low levels of passion dominated by higher levels of HP relative to OP), and Moderately Low Passion. The High OP Dominant profile was systematically the most prevalent (37.5%–54.1% of the sample), whereas the High HP Dominant was the least prevalent (2.1%–7.7%). Across all samples, work‐home segmentation was related to a higher likelihood of membership into the profiles characterised by higher, relative to lower or moderate, levels of passion (HP and OP), whereas organisational support also helped employees to stay away from the High OP Dominant profile. Lastly, the least desirable outcomes were observed in the High OP Dominant profile, whereas the most desirable outcomes were observed in the High HP Dominant profile. Interestingly, work engagement levels where comparable in these two profiles. Beyond their theoretical implications for research on work passion, these results highlight how work passion has highly similar implications across contexts.