4 ms·

Why Your Passion for Work Could Ruin Your Career

65 points by orky56 15y ago

pyoung 15y ago
I can relate to this on one level. I love my job and work crazy hours, but I struggle with burnout regularly, and often need to disengage from work for periods of time in order to recuperate. On the other hand, I am not sure I agree with the 'harmonious passion' argument. I would argue that people with 'harmonious passion' are simply less passionate about their work than the 'obsessives', which allows them to 'turn off the switch' so to speak. As a side note, it is probably fairly difficult if not impossible to objectively measure passion, so I guess it is pretty pointless to debate any of this in the first place.
- wisty 15y ago
  Also, they were studying nurses. Nurses have a greater need to "switch off", and don't benefit a lot from thinking about work. I can see how nurses who are crazy about work would go crazy.
orky56 15y ago
It's important to define the term, "passion." Most people associate emotions with passion often with a negative connotation. This leads to lapses in logic and reasoning. That being said, passion is what drives people to hustle, do what's necessary to accomplish something. It's that laser-guided focus that leaves distractions aside. It's the curiosity that promotes hacking and figuring out what to do. Lastly, it's the basis of the hunch. What Eric Ries mentions as the precursor of data-driven decisions. Passion enables entrepreneurs and hackers to go the extra mile and end up with disruptive innovation and new ideas. This often results in improper consumption of sleep, resources, time, and money. The goal is not to satisfy society and temporary obligations but rather to create something that cannot be done in any other way, or at least not by those who lack passion.
ansgri 15y ago
What I don't like in such articles is that they never give a clue how one can go from the bad category (obsessive passion) to the good (harmonious passion), and whether it's ever possible.
- andrewcooke 15y ago
  i think it is possible; in fact my first reaction to the article was that it was too binary - i think people exist at some point between the two extremes, and move over the course of their life. in my case, i think i have become "better", and what helped was a combination of understanding that i could burn out (when you're young you think that you are indestructible!) and decoupling my "own" projects from my "work" projects. the decoupling is a difficult balancing act. an employer wants you to care, but wants to avoid conflict of interest. luckily in software development you can develop a personal project that is overtly about a completely different subject area (software for model trains say, rather than payroll systems) but which still improves the skills you use at work (via shared technology, concepts, etc). so while i tend to spend spare cycles on work that doesn't directly help my employer, i am also the person suggesting new approaches and solutions to problems at work - imho it can be win-win. incidentally, i think the decoupling helps because it provides you with more control (see article). so that suggests that employers who want employees to be as involved as possible, but to avoid burnout, really need to relinquish control - to the extent that some kind of "dual ownership" exists (whatever that means - i am just exploring the idea here).
- bugsy 15y ago
  I think you can go from one to the other. Start by leaving work at 5 after 8 hrs work each day, no matter what. Don't bring work home. Don't think about work while at home. Don't carry a notebook around to work outside the office.
bignoggins 15y ago
Not sure if I agree with this definition of passion. I've always considered passion to be neutral. It's what drives you to do anything in life (make apps, make war, make love). But how you channel that passion into doing something either productive or unproductive is what matters. But going with the article, startup founders definitely need at least a little bit of what he calls "obsessive" passion.
- lchengify 15y ago
  Agreed. I think passion, even "obsessive" passion, is only a problem if it impedes your ability to make rational decisions. Cutting your losses, getting sleep, exercise, visiting other (physical) humans ... these things are important for mental health. Be passionate, just know your limits, brush your teeth, and take a break every other weekend. You'll be fine.
Produce 15y ago
To put it into Buddhist terms, obsessive passion is one where the subject is attached to the result, or end goal, while harmonious passion is when the person cares only about the process. A technique for transforming the former into the latter is meditation.
- troutwine 15y ago
  Or flogging and self-torture if you're a Christian ascetic. More seriously, there are thousands of years worth built-up knowledge with regard to humans examining their desires and contriving methods of engaging them in a way which leads, if not to happiness, then contentment. Much of that examination is wrapped up in religion, but if you can pry it out or study a secular philosophy of passion--say, Zen Buddhism--then there is much to be learned.
  - Produce 15y ago
    Or isolation, starvation, psychedelic drugs, near death experiences and sex. There are countless ways of achieving inner peace. Personally, I think that even Buddhism is littered with dogma (any subject that people form groups around tends to suffer from this). It would be nice to see a study comparing the different techniques and ranking their usefulness for different personality types.
flocial 15y ago
There seems to be a lot of obsessive passionate types in middle management though. I suppose they're hard to tell apart in the eyes of upper management.
davmar 15y ago
Can we block HBR? I have yet to see an article that isn't garbage. Btw which passion do you think steve jobs has? Seems like it worked out for him. Hmmmm.
numeromancer 15y ago
Fingunt simul et credunt: "They believe it, even while they are making it up." This article will be a great aid to porcine ablutions.
mark_l_watson 15y ago
I have occasionally been accused by previous bosses (and some customers after I switched to consulting 12 years ago) of lacking drive or passion because I tend to not work very many hours per week. I disagree since I am totally into my work while I am doing it. I just don't do well working for 8 or 9 hours straight, but I am happy when I do a few hours at a time sprints, with hours off in between the sprints. I believe that people as individuals just need to do careful thinking about their activities. I know people who work for long periods of time, totally focussed, and seem to really be happy. I know other people who don't seem to like what they do for their careers, and I don't think that they find much contentment from work except for appreciating their pay. One thing that I think is very toxic in work environments is if people feel inadequate in their jobs and work too hard to compensate. Double bad on managers who try to use this. Useful article.

65 points by orky56 15y ago

I can relate to this on one level. I love my job and work crazy hours, but I struggle with burnout regularly, and often need to disengage from work for periods of time in order to recuperate. On the other hand, I am not sure I agree with the 'harmonious passion' argument. I would argue that people with 'harmonious passion' are simply less passionate about their work than the 'obsessives', which allows them to 'turn off the switch' so to speak. As a side note, it is probably fairly difficult if not impossible to objectively measure passion, so I guess it is pretty pointless to debate any of this in the first place.

wisty 15y ago
Also, they were studying nurses. Nurses have a greater need to "switch off", and don't benefit a lot from thinking about work. I can see how nurses who are crazy about work would go crazy.

orky56 15y ago

It's important to define the term, "passion." Most people associate emotions with passion often with a negative connotation. This leads to lapses in logic and reasoning. That being said, passion is what drives people to hustle, do what's necessary to accomplish something. It's that laser-guided focus that leaves distractions aside. It's the curiosity that promotes hacking and figuring out what to do. Lastly, it's the basis of the hunch. What Eric Ries mentions as the precursor of data-driven decisions. Passion enables entrepreneurs and hackers to go the extra mile and end up with disruptive innovation and new ideas. This often results in improper consumption of sleep, resources, time, and money. The goal is not to satisfy society and temporary obligations but rather to create something that cannot be done in any other way, or at least not by those who lack passion.

ansgri 15y ago

What I don't like in such articles is that they never give a clue how one can go from the bad category (obsessive passion) to the good (harmonious passion), and whether it's ever possible.

andrewcooke 15y ago
i think it is possible; in fact my first reaction to the article was that it was too binary - i think people exist at some point between the two extremes, and move over the course of their life. in my case, i think i have become "better", and what helped was a combination of understanding that i could burn out (when you're young you think that you are indestructible!) and decoupling my "own" projects from my "work" projects. the decoupling is a difficult balancing act. an employer wants you to care, but wants to avoid conflict of interest. luckily in software development you can develop a personal project that is overtly about a completely different subject area (software for model trains say, rather than payroll systems) but which still improves the skills you use at work (via shared technology, concepts, etc). so while i tend to spend spare cycles on work that doesn't directly help my employer, i am also the person suggesting new approaches and solutions to problems at work - imho it can be win-win. incidentally, i think the decoupling helps because it provides you with more control (see article). so that suggests that employers who want employees to be as involved as possible, but to avoid burnout, really need to relinquish control - to the extent that some kind of "dual ownership" exists (whatever that means - i am just exploring the idea here).
bugsy 15y ago
I think you can go from one to the other. Start by leaving work at 5 after 8 hrs work each day, no matter what. Don't bring work home. Don't think about work while at home. Don't carry a notebook around to work outside the office.

bignoggins 15y ago

Not sure if I agree with this definition of passion. I've always considered passion to be neutral. It's what drives you to do anything in life (make apps, make war, make love). But how you channel that passion into doing something either productive or unproductive is what matters. But going with the article, startup founders definitely need at least a little bit of what he calls "obsessive" passion.

lchengify 15y ago
Agreed. I think passion, even "obsessive" passion, is only a problem if it impedes your ability to make rational decisions. Cutting your losses, getting sleep, exercise, visiting other (physical) humans ... these things are important for mental health. Be passionate, just know your limits, brush your teeth, and take a break every other weekend. You'll be fine.

Produce 15y ago

To put it into Buddhist terms, obsessive passion is one where the subject is attached to the result, or end goal, while harmonious passion is when the person cares only about the process. A technique for transforming the former into the latter is meditation.

troutwine 15y ago
Or flogging and self-torture if you're a Christian ascetic. More seriously, there are thousands of years worth built-up knowledge with regard to humans examining their desires and contriving methods of engaging them in a way which leads, if not to happiness, then contentment. Much of that examination is wrapped up in religion, but if you can pry it out or study a secular philosophy of passion--say, Zen Buddhism--then there is much to be learned.
- Produce 15y ago
  Or isolation, starvation, psychedelic drugs, near death experiences and sex. There are countless ways of achieving inner peace. Personally, I think that even Buddhism is littered with dogma (any subject that people form groups around tends to suffer from this). It would be nice to see a study comparing the different techniques and ranking their usefulness for different personality types.

flocial 15y ago

There seems to be a lot of obsessive passionate types in middle management though. I suppose they're hard to tell apart in the eyes of upper management.

davmar 15y ago

Can we block HBR? I have yet to see an article that isn't garbage. Btw which passion do you think steve jobs has? Seems like it worked out for him. Hmmmm.

numeromancer 15y ago

Fingunt simul et credunt: "They believe it, even while they are making it up." This article will be a great aid to porcine ablutions.

mark_l_watson 15y ago

I have occasionally been accused by previous bosses (and some customers after I switched to consulting 12 years ago) of lacking drive or passion because I tend to not work very many hours per week. I disagree since I am totally into my work while I am doing it. I just don't do well working for 8 or 9 hours straight, but I am happy when I do a few hours at a time sprints, with hours off in between the sprints. I believe that people as individuals just need to do careful thinking about their activities. I know people who work for long periods of time, totally focussed, and seem to really be happy. I know other people who don't seem to like what they do for their careers, and I don't think that they find much contentment from work except for appreciating their pay. One thing that I think is very toxic in work environments is if people feel inadequate in their jobs and work too hard to compensate. Double bad on managers who try to use this. Useful article.