The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available atwww.emeraldinsight.com/0268-3946.htm

On passion and heavy work
investment: personal andorganizational outcomes
Nathalie Houlfort, Frédérick L. Philippe, Robert J. Vallerand andJulie Ménard
Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Canada

On passion andheavy work
investment
25
Received September 2011
Revised March 2012
Accepted March 2012

Abstract
Purpose – The present research aimed to conceptually position passion for work as a predictor of
HWI, as well as to assess the short and long-term influence of passion for work on workers’
satisfaction, depression and turnover intentions. In addition, the paper tests whether the effects ofpassion for work were independent from those of work motivation.
Design/methodology/approach – Hypotheses were tested in two field studies in work settings.
The first study (n ¼ 2,393) was cross-sectional while the second study (n ¼ 335) used a prospective
design.
Findings – Harmonious passion was positively related to positive individual outcomes – higher
work satisfaction, lower depression – and organizational outcomes – lower turnover intentions.
Negative consequences – depression and turnover intentions – were positively related to obsessive
passion. Furthermore, passion for work was found to be a distinct concept from work motivation as
the above findings held even when controlling for work motivation.
Research limitations/implications – Applications are limited to teachers. Only self-reported
measures were used.
Originality/value – The present research contributes significantly to the organizational and passion
literature by showing that HWI may lead to either positive or negative outcomes depending on HWI’s
underlying motivational force, namely harmonious or obsessive passion. In addition, the present
findings yield the first empirical evidence that passion and motivation are distinct but related
concepts. In sum, findings from both studies provide valuable insights into the dynamics of passionate
workers who are heavily invested in their work.
Keywords Motivation, Turnover intentions, Depression, Heavy work investment, Passion for work,
Work satisfaction
Paper type Research paper

How much time and energy workers invest in their job depends on numerous factors.
Some may need the extra money, a few might be addicted to work, and others may
want to impress their employers and have a better chance for a promotion (Ng et al.,2007). Still, some workers invest a considerable amount of time and effort in their job
simply because they love what they do. Yet, all share a common point: their behavior
expresses a form of heavy work investment (HWI).
Journal of Managerial Psychology

These studies were supported by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities ResearchVol. 29 No. 1, 2014
pp. 25-45
Council of Canada and from the Fonds de recherche Société et culture du Québec to Nathalie
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Houlfort. The authors are grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and0268-3946
suggestions.
DOI 10.1108/JMP-06-2013-0155

JMP
29,1

26

In order to integrate existing research on HWI, Snir and Harpaz (2011) haveproposed a model. Accordingly, two core dimensions delineate HWI, namely time(i.e. frequency) and effort (i.e. intensity) investments in work. Hence, heavy work
investors spend not only a considerable amount of time working, they also put in asignificant amount of physical or mental energy. Snir and Harpaz further propose two
major types of HWI: situational and dispositional types. Situational types of HWI arefor example, financially-based or employer-directed. For instance, workers can display
HWI when they have great financial needs and the additional time and effort invested
at work will give them extra pay. Or, certain job designs (e.g. emergency rooms
doctors) impose HWI. These forms of HWI emerge from specific external predictors(financial needs, employer demands or organizational culture), and thus when thesepredictors are no longer present, the model proposes that situational investors will
reduce their investment (Snir and Harpaz, 2011).
According to the HWI model, the dispositional forms of HWI are related to moreinternal predictors, such as addiction to work and passion for work. Snir and Harpaz(2011) propose at least two subtypes of dispositional HWI: workaholism andwork-devotion. Workaholism emerges from an addiction to work (Snir and Harpaz,2011), whereas work-devotion is “an expression of passion for work” (Snir and Harpaz,
2011, p. 5). Since these forms of HWI are related to internal dispositions, the model
stipulates that dispositional investors will display a steady HWI, contrary to theirsituational counterparts. In addition, dispositional investors are thought to havestronger affective reactions to work-related events than situational investors (Snir andHarpaz, 2011).
Hence, depending on the subtype, HWI can lead to positive, negative or mixed
outcomes for the individual, the organization and the worker’s family or entourage. For
instance, many studies have established a relationship between workaholism andburnout (Schaufeli et al., 2008), work-life conflict (Bonebright et al., 2000), and stress(Spence and Robbins, 1992). However, fewer studies have invested the relationships ofother types of HWI with well-being. Thus, the relationship between HWI andpsychological well-being needs to be clarified. Specifically, can HWI lead to positive
and/or negative outcomes? At the present moment, this question is in need of adefinitive answer and we think that the concept of passion for work can help clarify
this issue.
This paper had three main objectives. The first was to position passion for work as
a source of HWI. More specifically, can HWI be ascribed to passion for work? The
second was to clarify the relationship between HWI and workers’ outcomes. Morespecifically, we aimed to show that HWI does not always lead to deleterious effects on
workers’ psychological well-being and is not always related to higher retention. HWI
can promote positive psychological health and protect against psychological distress,
lead to retention or turnover depending on which type of passion fuels one’s
investment. Finally, the present paper aimed to distinguish passion for work from asimilar, yet distinct concept, namely motivation at work.
On the concept of passion
The dualistic model of passion
The dualistic model of passion (Vallerand et al., 2003; Vallerand and Houlfort, 2003)
defines passion as a strong inclination toward an activity that we love, in which weinvest a significant amount of time and energy, that we find important, and thatdefines us. In addition, the dualistic model of passion proposes that two types ofpassion exist: harmonious and obsessive passion. Harmonious passion emerges froman autonomous internalization process, one in which individuals freely choose topursue their passionate activity because they love it, find it important, and because it
represents who they are. With harmonious passion, individuals are not pressured into
this activity, and do not find themselves compelled to engage in it. Workers with aharmonious passion invest a significant but flexible amount of time and energy in theirjob. For instance, elementary school teachers with a harmonious passion invest morethan the 32 weekly hours, for which they are paid. So they will grade their pupils’
exams at home, during the evening, they will perhaps take an additional class on
Friday, prepare new material during the weekends, meet with parents after class andprovide help to students who need it during lunchtime. However, their investment is
flexible, such that they will move around their work schedule to let other non-work
activities have their place and be enacted. Importantly, because workers with aharmonious passion do not feel compel to indulge in their job, they will feel good about
investing time and energy in their work and taking time for their non-work activities.
And because time spent doing other activities beside work allows them to relax, getrevitalized, and be nourished in a different way, they tend to protect these moments.
Thus, the passionate activity is in harmony with other aspects of the person’s life anddoes not control the individual (Vallerand et al., 2003).
Obsessive passion takes place when the passionate activity was internalized in acontrolled way. External or internal pressures to “take in” the activity and make it
one’s own characterize the controlled internalization process. Consequently, theactivity becomes ego contingent, and individual with such a passion are considered tohave fragile ego (Lafrenière et al., 2011). Workers with an obsessive passion love theirjob, find it important, invest a considerable amount of time and effort in it, and define
themselves by it – just as their counterparts with a harmonious passion – but theyneed to engage in their work to feel good about themselves and avoid feeling guilty.
Such passion leads to a rigid form of HWI. For example, teachers with an obsessive
passion might accept to tutor kids at lunchtime and after school, or participate in aparent-teacher committee, although such tasks would overburden them and prevent
them from spending time with their family and friends. During and after tutoring theymight feel guilty because they did not spend that time with their loved ones. The
negative affect as well as the rumination emerging from such situation can distract
them from the task at hand (Vallerand et al., 2003).
Much empirical support has been obtained for the dualistic model of passion. For
instance, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses with the passion scale havesupported the existence of two constructs, namely harmonious and obsessive passions(e.g. Rousseau et al., 2002; Vallerand et al., 2003; Vallerand et al., 2006). The constructvalidity of the two types of passion has also received empirical support. Bothharmonious and obsessive passions have been found to be positively related withactivity liking and valuation, behavioral investment in the activity, endorsement of theactivity within the self, and measures of the activity being perceived as a passion,
while being differently related to different types of outcomes (see Vallerand, 2010 for areview). Typically, harmonious passion promotes, while obsessive passion

On passion andheavy work
investment
27

JMP
29,1

28

undermines, positive cognitive, affective, behavioral, and interpersonal outcomes(Vallerand, 2010).
The concept of passion has generated some interest in the work context (seeVallerand et al., n.d., for a review). Past research has shown that passionate workers areassets for organizations (Baum and Locke, 2004; Cardon et al., 2009; Chen et al., 2009) as
they significantly help increase venture performance and capitalists’ investment, as wellas effectiveness. Passionate entrepreneurs are found to expend increase effort, be more
persistent and experience higher levels of enthusiasm (Cardon et al., 2005).
Recently, Liu et al. (2011) showed that harmonious passion for work was positively
related to job creativity. Harmonious passion for work is also related to flow,
psychological well-being, decreases in work-family conflicts, and work satisfaction(Carbonneau et al., 2008; Vallerand et al., 2010). Harmonious passion also has a positive
influence on relationships’ quality in the workplace (Philippe et al., 2010). Carbonneau
et al. (2008) found that harmonious passion for teaching was positively related to work
satisfaction and positive student behaviors over a period of three months. Conversely,
harmonious passion was negatively associated with burnout. Examining thepsychological mechanisms involved in the passion-psychological well-being
relationship, Philippe et al. (2010) found support for the mediating role of positive
emotions. Based on the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions (Fredrickson,
2001; Fredrickson and Branigan, 2005), it was suggested that workers with aharmonious passion fuel up on positive emotions, which lead them to increase their
psychological resources. When faced with challenges or obstacles, workers can draw
from their resources to overcome their difficulties and still experience psychologicalhealth.
Workers with an obsessive passion tend to experience fewer positive outcomes. For
instance, obsessive passion for work is positively related to psychological distress(Forest et al., 2011; Vallerand and Houlfort, 2003), burnout (e.g. Carbonneau et al., 2008;
Vallerand et al., 2010), and work-family conflict (e.g. Vallerand et al., 2010). Philippe
et al. (2010) also found that workers with an obsessive passion experienced morenegative emotions that, in turn, were related to negative relationships with colleagues.
Passion for work is conceived as a motivational force that leads workers to invest asignificant amount of time and energy in their job and to derive important outcomesfrom such investment. The level and type of passion for work one has will influence thedegree and quality of one’s work investment that, in turn, will influence a variety of
individual, interpersonal and organizational outcomes, in a negative, positive or mixedfashion. Our position on passion and HWI would appear in line with that of Snir andHarpaz (2011) who posit that passion for work is an internal predictor of HWI. What
we add, however, is that there are two types of passion that will determine the qualityof one’s HWI and ensuing consequences.
On passion and motivation
Passion and motivation would appear to be similar constructs. Passion directs andenergizes behaviors; so does motivation. Motivation leads to important cognitive,
affective and behavioral consequences (see Deci and Ryan, 2000; Vallerand, 1997); so
does passion (Vallerand, 2010; Vallerand and Houlfort, 2003). Distinguishing passion
for work from motivation at work is thus important. According to self-determination
theory (SDT – Deci and Ryan, 1985, 2000), assessing human motivation merelyaccording to the quantity dimension (i.e. is the individual motivated, and if so, how
much?) is somewhat simplistic. For instance, highly motivated workers can be
motivated for diverse reasons. SDT stipulates that the underlying regulation of the
behavior will influence differently individual and organizational outcomes (Deci and
Ryan, 2000; Gagné and Deci, 2005). Hence, according to SDT there are three different
types of motivation (amotivation, extrinsic, and intrinsic), which fall along a continuum
anchored by control and autonomous regulation.
Behaviors that are intrinsically regulated or have an identified or integrated
regulation (two regulations type representing two forms of extrinsic motivation)
represent an autonomous motivation. Autonomous regulation is a self-regulated process
to engage in a behavior: individuals put effort in their work because they enjoy it, find it
interesting, or because they have chosen to do so. Behavioral regulation underlying acontrolled motivation (external and introjected regulations) emerges from external orinternal pressure: for instance, individuals put effort in their work to have a bigger bonus
or because they would feel guilty if they did not. The activity is not internalized in the
person’s identity, “people’s behavior is regulated by others’ administration ofcontingencies” (Deci and Ryan, 2000, p. 236). However, recent findings suggest that an
autonomously motivating activity is not usually fully internalized in the person’s
identity (Vallerand and Miquelon, 2007). In addition, having an autonomous motivation
for an activity does not guaranty a substantial investment of one’s time and energy into
it. Research in the sport domain (e.g. Vallerand et al., 2003, Study 2; Vallerand andMiquelon, 2007) has provided compelling evidence that controlling for both controlled
and autonomous forms of motivation, harmonious and obsessive passion still predictedaffective outcomes to the same degree as usual, while motivation had a weakercontribution. More recently, Gousse-Lessard and Vallerand (2011) revealed that
harmonious passion for the environmental cause predicted pro-environmental behaviors(e.g. buying “green”, recycling and partake in peaceful manifestation) over and beyond
autonomous and controlled motivation for the cause. One purpose of this research wasthus to further test the independent contribution of the passion concept in the work
domain over and beyond that of motivation.
Overview of study 1 and hypotheses
Organizations are concerned with employees’ psychological well-being and, as statedearlier, the role of HWI in workers’ psychological health is not clear. We sought toclarify the contribution of HWI in workers’ outcomes by using the concept of passion.
We conducted a field study with workers who are known for their HWI, namely
teachers (Day, 2004). The short-term influence of passion – harmonious and obsessive– on work satisfaction and depression was assessed. In addition, the distinctions andsimilarities between passion and motivation at work were examined. Thus:
H1a. Harmonious passion will be positively related to work satisfaction andnegatively related to depression.
H1b. Obsessive passion will be negatively related to work satisfaction andpositively related to depression.
H2. Harmonious and obsessive passion for work will predict individual andorganizational outcomes over and beyond autonomous and controlled
motivation at work.

On passion andheavy work
investment
29

JMP
29,1

30

Methodology
Participants and procedure
Participants were 2,393 teacher (523 males and 1,870 females) aged between 22 and 68
years (M ¼ 40.79 years, SD ¼ 9.66 years). Teachers in Quebec are paid for 32 hours per
week. However, in our sample, the average hours per week worked are 37.6
(SD ¼ 4.01). Specifically, 40.9 percent of our sample worked more than 39 hours per
week, and less than 7 percent worked fewer than 32 hours. The range of years ofexperience in teaching varied from 0 to 46 years (M ¼ 14.04 years, SD ¼ 8.49 years).
Participants taught at various education level: 8.4 percent preschool, 35 percent
elementary, 33.5 percent high school, 3.8 percent adult education, 4.1 percent vocational
education, and 15.2 percent special education.
With the collaboration of a major teacher union, questionnaires were sent to 17,000
teachers, through the schools internal mail system. Participants were asked tocomplete the questionnaire and return it directly to the research team via a
pre-stamped envelope. The return rate was 14.07 percent. A survey sent by the union
was also being distributed at the time when the study was done which can partly
explain the relatively low return rate.
Measures
Passion for work. The passion scale for work (Vallerand and Houlfort, 2003) was usedin order to assess teachers’ passion for their work. The passion scale is divided in two
subscales of six items each; the obsessive and the harmonious subscales. A sample
item for the harmonious subscale is “My work is in harmony with other activities in mylife” and for the obsessive subscale is “I have difficulties controlling my urge to work”.
The original passion scale and many of its derivatives have been shown to display
high levels of validity and reliability (Rousseau et al., 2002; Vallerand et al., 2003;
Vallerand and Houlfort, 2003; Vallerand et al., 2006). In the present study bothsubscales had good internal consistency (harmonious passion: a ¼ 0.87, obsessive
passion: a ¼ 0.75). All items were scored on seven-point Likert scale, ranging from 1(do not agree at all) to 7 (very strongly agree).
Work motivation. Items from the motivation at work scale (Gagné et al., 2011) wereused to assess teachers’ motivation for teaching. Following a procedure used byWilliams et al. (1996), we created an autonomous and controlled motivation index bysumming items from the intrinsic and identified motivation subscales – autonomous
motivation index (a: 0.94) – and summing the items from the extrinsic and introjected
motivation subscales – controlled motivation index (a: 0.82)[1]. Items were answeredon a scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 7 (exactly).
Work satisfaction. This scale contains five items (a: 0.86) and has been modified
from the satisfaction with life scale (Diener et al., 1985) to fit the work domain. A
sample item is “The conditions in which I do my work are excellent”. Items were scoredon scale, ranging from 1 (do not agree at all) to 7 (very strongly agree).
Depression. Five items (a: 0.84) from the depression subscale from Ilfeld’s (1976)
psychiatric symptoms index were used. The questionnaire assess the frequency ofdepressive symptoms – the stem is “Over the last week, how often [. . .]” – and asample item is “did you feel desperate when thinking about the future?”. Answers wererated on a scale from 1 (never) to 4 (often).
Sex, tenure, and number of hours worked per week were used as control variables.

Results
Preliminary analysis
Table I provides the means, standard deviations, and correlations among all study
variables. Given that harmonious passion was at least moderately positively andnegatively correlated with autonomous and controlled motivation, respectively, we
conducted a CFA to examine the empirical distinction existing among these constructs.
Obsessive passion was not included in this preliminary CFA, because it was notcorrelated with harmonious passion and only weakly correlated with autonomous andcontrolled motivation. An initial three-factor model CFA was conducted, allowing eachindicator of each construct to load separately on their respective latent variable(autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, and harmonious passion). Fit indicesfor this model were adequate: SB x2 (df ¼ 24) ¼ 389.85, p , 0.001, NNFI ¼ 0.97,
CFI ¼ 0.95, RMSEA ¼ 0.080 [0.073; 0.087], SRMR ¼ 0.065, AIC ¼ 431.85.
A second CFA was conducted, this time allowing the indicators of harmonious
passion and autonomous motivation to load on the same latent variable within a
two-factor model. Results revealed poorer fit indices for this model: SB x2(df ¼ 26) ¼ 637.79, p , 0.001, NNFI ¼ 0.96, CFI ¼ 0.95, RMSEA ¼ 0.099 [0.093;
0.11], SRMR ¼ 0.072, AIC ¼ 675.79. Notably, the AIC criterion was considerably
higher for this latter alternative model, thus suggesting that the original three-factor
model should be preferred. Another alternative two-factor model was tested wherein
the indicators of harmonious passion and controlled motivation were allowed to loadon the same latent variable (expecting negative loadings for the controlled motivation
indicators). Results for this alternative model also revealed unsatisfactory fit indices ascompared to the original model, SB x2 (df ¼ 26) ¼ 609.70, p , 0.001, NNFI ¼ 0.96,
CFI ¼ 0.97, RMSEA ¼ 0.097 [0.093; 0.104], SRMR ¼ 0.078, AIC ¼ 647.70. Finally, atest of a one-factor model also revealed poor fit indices, SB x2 (df ¼ 27) ¼ 804.85,
p , 0.001, AIC ¼ 840.85. Overall, these preliminary analyses suggest that passion andmotivation are correlated, but constitute independent constructs.
Main analysis
A structural equation model was used to examine the relationships between passion
and work satisfaction and depression. The model was conducted in LISREL 8(Jöreskog and Sörbom, 2003) and robust maximum likelihood was the method of
estimation. Observed variables were computed using item parceling for the passion
and motivation constructs (Bandalos, 2002). A covariance was drawn between work
satisfaction and depression. In addition, we also controlled for the effect of sex, tenure,and weekly hours worked. Test of this model (see Figure 1) revealed acceptable fit
indices, SB x2 (df ¼ 242) ¼ 4,158.38, p , 0.001, NNFI ¼ 0.94, CFI ¼ 0.95,
RMSEA ¼ 0.082 [0.080; 0.085], SRMR ¼ 0.092. In addition, all factor loadings weresignificant and adequately high. Results revealed that harmonious passion was
negatively associated with depression and positively associated with work
satisfaction. Conversely, obsessive passion was positively associated withdepression, but unrelated to work satisfaction. Autonomous motivation was
negatively and positively associated with depression and work satisfaction,
respectively, whereas controlled motivation was positively associated withdepression and unrelated to work satisfaction. All these results held afterOn passion andheavy work
investment
31

Table I.
Means, standard
deviations, andcorrelations: study 1

Notes: *p , 0.05; * *p , 0.01

5.01
2.20
5.27
2.19
–
14.04
37.60
1.85
4.30

1.09
0.98
1.02
0.62
–
8.49
4.01
0.68
1.21

SD
–
20.03
0.75 * *20.33 * *20.06 * *20.10 * *20.09 * *20.46 * *0.66 * *1–
0.11 * *0.26 * *
20.03
20.00
0.25 * *0.17 * *0.03

2–20.35 * *20.06 * *20.00
20.09 * *20.45 * *0.69 * *3–0.05 *
2 0.030.16 * *0.40 * *2 0.29 * *

4

–
0.04
20.18 * *0.02
20.04 *

5–
20.19 * *
20.01
0.04

6

7

–
0.20 * *20.20 * *32

Harmonious passion (1)Obsessive passion (2)Autonomous motivation (3)Controlled motivation (4)Sex (5)
Years of experience (6)Hours per week (7)Depression (8)Work satisfaction (9)

Means

–
2 0.51 * *

8

JMP
29,1

On passion andheavy work
investment
33

Figure 1.
Structural equation modelof the relationships
between passion and work
satisfaction anddepression

JMP
29,1

34

controlling for gender, tenure, and weekly hours worked. Overall, these results suggestthat passion and motivation constitute two related but distinct constructs.
Results from study 1 show that being a heavy work investor does not invariably
lead to individual negative outcomes. Such effects depend on the type of passion
underlying one’s HWI. Specifically, harmonious passion’s positive association withwork satisfaction and negative association with depression suggest that HWI can leadto positive consequences. Conversely, when obsessive passion is at play, negative
consequences are experienced such as depression. Thus, the results from study 1
suggest a tentative resolution to the question posed in the introduction regarding theimpact of HWI on workers’ outcomes.
Study 2
The results of study 1 revealed that the impact of one’s HWI depends on its source,
namely if the passion for one’s work is harmonious or obsessive. A first goal of study 2
was to attempt to replicate the findings of study 1 with respect to depression and work
satisfaction using a prospective design. Such a design should allow us to test if passion
can predict changes in outcomes. A second purpose of study 2 was to extend thosefindings to other outcomes. Retention is an important organizational issue (Hollenbeck
and Williams, 1986; Waldman et al., 2004), especially within schools. In Canada, 20
percent of young teachers quit before making it to their five-year anniversary in theprofession (Grimmett and Echols, 2000) (Table II).
Turnover intentions reflect how workers foresee their employment (Bright, 2008)
and commitment to their work, organization, or profession. According to Fishbein and
Ajzen’s (1975) theory of attitude, turnover intentions usually precede the actual
behavior of quitting one’s work. Acting on factors that can reduce turnover intentions
should thus lower employees’ attrition rate, and the costs associated with it. Worksatisfaction is an important determinant of turnover intentions (see Hom et al., 1992): itis negatively related to turnover intentions and actual turnover (e.g. Griffeth et al.,
2000; Tett and Meyer, 1993; Zimmerman and Darnold, 2009).
Another important variable in the prevention of turnover intention is psychologicalwell-being (e.g. Burke and Greenglass, 1989; Schwab et al., 1986). Carson et al. (2010)
reported that emotional exhaustion was positively related to attrition rate among earlychildhood teachers. These findings could mean that workers who are experiencing
psychological distress consider quitting one’s job as way of coping (Bellavia and Frone,2005). Thus, workers who frequently experience depressive symptoms should havehigher levels of turnover intentions. Since previous findings suggest that obsessive
passion is related to high psychological distress (see Vallerand, 2010), obsessive
passion should be positively related to turnover intentions.
Finally, study 2 sought to further assess the difference in the long-term influence of
passion and motivation on workers’ outcomes. Although motivation for work can havea short-term impact, passion should have a longer lasting influence on outcomes
because with passion, work is part of the workers’ identity. Thus:
H3a. Harmonious passion at time 1 will positively predict increases in work
satisfaction at time 2.
H3b. Harmonious passion at time 1 will predict decreases in depression andturnover intentions at time 2.

SD

1

2

Notes: *p , 0.05; * *p , 0.01

Harmonious
passion (1)4.98 1.08–
Obsessive
passion (2)2.11 0.93
0.02–
Autonomous
motivation(3) 5.20 1.08
0.77 * *0.16 * *Controlled
motivation(4)
2.20 0.68 20.27 * *0.18 * *Sex (5)
–
–
20.04
0.05
Years ofexperience(6)12.78 7.81 20.04
20.04
Hours perweek (7)37.74 7.43 20.06
0.11 *
Depression
time 1 (8)1.90 0.68 20.43 * *0.19 * *Work
satisfaction
time 1 (9)4.25 1.24
0.67 * *0.05
Depression
time 2 (10)1.72 0.55 20.25 * *0.18 * *Work
satisfaction
time 2 (11)4.28 1.14
0.53 * * 20.02
Intentions toquit time 1(12)
0.07 0.26 20.20 * *0.08Intentions toquit time 2(13)0.44 0.50 20.33 * *0.11 *

M

0.21 * *0.16 * *20.29 * *20.13 *

0.10

20.09

0.10

–

7

0.03

0.16 * * 20.16 * *0.12 * 2 0.05

0.03

0.08

0.48 * * 2 0.21 * * 2 0.07
20.24 * *2 0.100.22 * *0.07

20.27 * *0.03

0.65 * * 2 0.26 * * 2 0.01

0.40 * *20.44 * *2 0.082 0.102 0.07

0.08

20.02

–

6

0.02

2 0.02

2 0.06

0.05

–

5

–
0.07

4

20.37 * *
20.06

–

3

–

9

–

10

0.34 * * 20.35 * *

–

11

12

0.36 * * 20.47 * * 0.19 * *0.21 * * 20.20 * * –0.59 * * 20.43 * *0.18 * * 20.20 * *20.36 * *0.33 * * 20.24 * *20.42 * *–8On passion andheavy work
investment
35

Table II.
Means, standard
deviations, andcorrelations: study 2

JMP
29,1

H3c. Obsessive passion at time 1 will predict increases in depression and turnover
intentions at time 2.
H3d. Depression and work satisfaction will mediate the relationship between
passion and turnover intentions.

36

H4. Passion should have more important effects on outcomes over time thanmotivation.
Methodology
Participants and procedure
Participants were 335 teachers (77 males and 258 females) aged between 23 and 63
years (M ¼ 39.39 years, SD ¼ 9.48 years) who completed two questionnaires over a
two-year period. The range of years of experience in teaching varied from 1 to 38 years(M ¼ 12.78 years, SD ¼ 7.81 years). These educators reported working for an averageof 37.74 hours per week (SD ¼ 7.43 hours). Preschool (8.5 percent), elementary school(40.7 percent), high school (23.6 percent), vocational education (5.4 percent), adulteducation (2.3 percent), and special education (13 percent) level teachers wererepresented in our sample.
With the collaboration of a teacher union, questionnaires at time 1 were sent directly
to teachers through the schools’ internal mail system. Participants were invited topartake in a longitudinal study on teachers’ psychological well-being. The second wave
took place two years later. An e-mail invitation to complete a web-based questionnaire
was sent to educators that had given a valid email address. A total of 800 completed
and returned the questionnaire time 1. From those, 335 completed and returned thequestionnaire time 2 (41.88 percent return rate).
Measures
Passion for work time 1. The same scales as in study 1 was used. Internal consistency
for both harmonious (a ¼ 0.87) and obsessive (a ¼ 0.74) passion was good.
Motivation at work time 1. The same scale as in study 1 was used, with goodinternal consistency (a ¼ 0.93).
Depression time 1 and time 2. The same scales as in study 1 were used. The scale
revealed good internal consistency at both time (time 1: a ¼ 0.85; time 2: a ¼ 0.79).
Work satisfaction time 1 and time 2. The same scales as in study 1 were used.
Internal consistency was good at both times (time 1: a ¼ 0.87; time 2: a ¼ 0.86).
Intentions to quit at time 1 and time 2. We asked teachers to indicate how much timethey intended to stay within the profession. The answers were dichotomized; 1 ¼ lessthan 2 years; 2 ¼ more than two years.
Sex, tenure and number of hours worked per week were used as control variables.
Results
It was hypothesized that the two types of passion (controlling for autonomous andcontrolled motivation) would be associated with changes in work satisfaction,
depression, and intentions to quit. To examine these hypotheses, a structural equation
model was conducted using weighted least squares as the method of estimation. Thismethod of estimation handles dichotomous endogenous variables (i.e. intentions to quit
at time 2) by estimating probit coefficients. The two types of passion were thus

modeled to predict work satisfaction, depression, and intentions to quit measured attime 2. The covariances among these three time 2 measures were also freely estimated.
Controlled variables were work satisfaction, depression, and intentions to quit at time
1, sex, years of experience, and weekly hours worked. A path was drawn from each ofthese controlled variables to all three time 2 measures.
The fit indices of this model were adequate x2 (df ¼ 556) ¼ 1,433.74, p , 0.001,
NNFI ¼ 0.94, CFI ¼ 0.95, RMSEA ¼ 0.069 [0.064; 0.073], SRMR ¼ 0.071. Results
revealed that harmonious passion predicted increases in work satisfaction (g ¼ 0.31,
p , 0.05), but not in depression (g ¼ 0.09, ns). Conversely, obsessive passion predicted
increases in depression (g ¼ 0.22, p , 0.05), but not in work satisfaction (g ¼ 0.03, ns).
However, harmonious and obsessive passion did not directly predict increases inintentions to quit (zs , j1.12j, ns). Autonomous and controlled motivations were notcorrelated with any of these outcomes (all zs , j1.40j, ns). Years of experience
predicted increases in work satisfaction and decreases in depression, whereas
intentions to quit at time 1 and weekly hours worked predicted decreases in work
satisfaction and increases in depression. All other paths were non-significant, with the
exceptions of work satisfaction and depression at time 1, which were significantly
correlated with their respective time 2 measure. Depression at time 1 also predicted
increases in intentions to quit. Further analyses using Sobel tests revealed that work
satisfaction at Time 2 was mediating the relationship between harmonious passion andintention to quit at time 2 (z ¼ 2.09, p , 0.05) and that depression at time 2 was
marginally mediating the relationship between obsessive passion and intention to quit
at time 2 (z ¼ 1.92, p ¼ 0.054). This final model is shown in Figure 2.
In sum, these findings provided additional support for the main hypothesis to theeffect that heavy work investors fuelled by passion can experience positive or negative
consequences, depending on the type of passion one has for his or her work.
Furthermore these findings were obtained over a two-year period. Specifically,harmonious passion for work was found to predict adaptive outcomes (increases inwork satisfaction but no changes in depression) while obsessive passion predicted lessadaptive consequences (increases in workers’ depression, but no effects on work
satisfaction). The absence of a significant relationship between obsessive passion andchanges in work satisfaction was reported elsewhere as well (e.g. Carbonneau et al.,2008; Vallerand et al., 2010) and provides further evidence to the effect that obsessive
passion leads to less positive work outcomes than harmonious passion. Results also
show that passion can have long-lasting influences on turnover intentions, which are
mediated by workers’ satisfaction and depression. Finally, the distinction between
passion for work and work motivation was also confirmed in study 2 as the abovefindings held even when controlling for work motivation.
General discussion
Past research had underscored the fact that HWI has an ambiguous relationship withoutcomes. The present research sheds some light on this issue by conceptualizing
passion for work as a source of HWI and considering both forms of passion:
harmonious and obsessive. Distinguishing harmonious from obsessive passion
provides a better prediction of the outcomes among a group of heavily invested
workers such as teachers. Findings from the present studies show that harmonious
passion leads to positive outcomes, whereas obsessive passion leads to negative

On passion andheavy work
investment
37

JMP
29,1

38

Figure 2.
Structural equation modelof the relationships
between passion andchanges in work
satisfaction, depression,and intentions to quit over
one yearoutcomes. Specifically, harmonious passion was positively related to short-term andlong-term increases in work satisfaction and negatively related to short-term
depression. Study 2 confirmed the prolonged influence of passion on such outcomes,
especially work satisfaction. Thus, HWI can have benefits for workers, both short-termand long-term, to the extent that harmonious passion is at play. However, adverse
effects will emerge if obsessive passion underlies HWI. Indeed, results from bothstudies revealed that obsessive passion was positively related to short and long-term
increases in depression. Research reveals that when obsessive passion underlies one’s
investment in an activity, positive emotions are thwarted by such a form of HWI(Philippe et al., 2010), and because obsessive passion nurtures work-family conflicts

(Vallerand et al., 2010), workers with an obsessive passion are more at risk for
depression.
On HWI, passion and turnover intentions
Turnover intentions are related to important costs for organizations (e.g. Waldman
et al., 2004). Although we can argue that a certain proportion of turnover is functional
and thus desired, excessive turnover is detrimental to organizational performance(Abelson and Baysinger, 1984; Glebbeek and Hax, 2004). Thus, to avoid dysfunctional
turnover, organizations need to understand the underlying causes, elaborate policies tocounteract unwarranted turnover, and perhaps hire employees predisposed to staywith the organization. HWI can be perceived as a dispositional barrier to turnover, andorganizations may be inclined to hire candidates who are heavy work investors.
Results from study 2 suggest that such hiring strategies need to be carefully applied as
not all HWI leads to retention. Results revealed a marginal mediation between
obsessive passion and turnover intentions by depression. In other words, among
heavily invested teachers, obsessive passion was indirectly related to increases inturnover intentions over a two-year period, through its relationship with depression. In
other words, HWI can lead to turnover intentions, if obsessive passion is fuelling HWI.
These findings are of particular importance for the field. The DMP (Vallerand et al.,2003) predicts a rigid investment from workers with an obsessive passion. In otherwords, according to the DMP, workers with an obsessive passion should demonstratepersistent ill-advised behaviors towards their job. Previous research on turnoverdeterminants show, however, that psychological distress is positively related toturnover (e.g. Carson et al., 2010; Kim and Stoner, 2008), supporting the present
findings. Perhaps persistent ill-advised behaviors in the educational context lead to
additional harmful consequences such as parents’ and students’ complaints, which inturn can lead to administrative interventions (e.g. sanctions). Being the target of
sanctions may have an adverse effect on the ego, which defeats the purpose of thepassionate activity: protecting the ego. Future research is needed to clarify this issue.
However, we believe that long-lasting threats to the ego may generate intentions toleave one’s work in individuals who have a more fragile ego, like workers with anobsessive passion.
Harmonious passion for work was negatively related to turnover intentions, andthis relationship was mediated by work satisfaction. Consistent with the DMP, workers
with harmonious passion seem to experience higher levels of work satisfaction, andconsistent with research on turnover determinants, work satisfaction was negatively
related to turnover intentions. Thus, as long as the harmonious worker is satisfied, heor she will remain with the organization. However, when work is no longer asatisfactory experience, harmonious workers may be determined to leave.
On passion and motivation
Passion for work and motivation at work are different, yet related constructs. Bothconcepts are hypothesized to energize and direct behavior and both are expected tohave affective, cognitive, and behavioral consequences. Nonetheless, findings from thepresent studies provide strong evidence that passion for work and motivation at work
are not identical. Perhaps the most straightforward confirmation of this conclusion isthat when controlling for motivation the effects of passion on outcomes remain.

On passion andheavy work
investment
39

JMP
29,1

40

Furthermore, the findings in study 2 lead to a second conclusion: passion predicts
long-term work satisfaction and depression, whereas motivation does not. When bothconcepts are entered simultaneously in a model, it seems that passion for work is betterat predicting long-term consequences than work motivation. This is not to say that
motivation at work is irrelevant, but rather that passion for work seems to capture aunique phenomenological experience where one’s passion for work remains in identity
over the long-term, thereby allowing researchers to predict specific consequences overtime. This last finding represents a significant contribution to the passion andorganizational psychology literatures. Never before was passion empiricallydifferentiated from motivation in the work domain.
Limitations and future directions
Although the present studies yielded important findings, certain limitations need to beconsidered. First, only teachers were studied in the present research. Future researchshould include other categories of heavily invested workers to generalize the results.
Second, it is also important to note that actual turnover was not assessed in the present
research. Thus, future research should include a behavioral measure of turnover. The
empirical distinction of passion from other HWI concepts such as workaholism(e.g. Oates, 1971; Spence and Robbins, 1992) was not conducted in the present research.
Future research is therefore called for in order to clearly identify the similarities anddistinctions between both concepts and their relative contribution to outcomes.
Another important avenue for future research is to establish when will passion lead to
HWI. In the present research, it is stated that harmonious and obsessive passions areboth sources of HWI. However, in some cases, passionate workers – especially with aharmonious passion – may temporarily reduce their investment in their work tosatisfy other spheres of their life. Following workers for a long period of time using
diary studies or an experience sampling design could significantly contribute to ourunderstanding of how passion fuels HWI. Finally, more research is needed to qualify
the distinction between passion for work and motivation at work. Even if an empiricaldistinction was provided, future studies should examine more closely thephenomenological experiences of each concepts.
Conclusion
The present findings showed that not all types of HWI are equal. HWI nourished by anobsessive passion is related to depression and turnover intentions, whereas HWI
fuelled by a harmonious passion is related to positive outcomes such as psychologicalwell-being and work satisfaction. Thus, HWI can lead to positive or negative
individual and organizational outcomes, depending on the type of passion underlying
work investment. Future research on the role of passionate heavy work investors
would thus appear promising.
Note
1. Authors of the MAWS-R (Forest, 2009, personal communication) confirmed that we could
apply this procedure to their scale.

References
Abelson, M.A. and Baysinger, B.D. (1984), “Optimal and dysfunctional turnover: toward anorganizational level model”, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 9 No. 2, pp. 331-341.
Bandalos, D. (2002), “The effects of item parceling on goodness-of-fit and parameter estimate bias
in structural equation modeling”, Structural Equation Modeling, Vol. 9 No. 1, pp. 78-102.
Baum, J.R. and Locke, E.A. (2004), “The relationship of entrepreneurial traits, skill andmotivation to subsequent venture growth”, Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 89 No. 4,
pp. 587-598.
Bellavia, G. and Frone, M.R. (2005), “Work-family conflict”, in Barling, J., Kelloway, E.K. andFrone, M.R. (Eds), Handbook of Work Stress, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA, pp. 143-162.
Bonebright, C.A., Clay, D.L. and Ankenmann, R.D. (2000), “The relationship of workaholism withwork-life conflict, life satisfaction, and purpose in life”, Journal of Counseling Psychology,
Vol. 47 No. 4, pp. 469-477.
Bright, L. (2008), “Does public service motivation really make a difference on the job satisfaction
and turnover intentions of public employees?”, The American Review of Public
Administration, Vol. 38 No. 2, pp. 149-166.
Burke, R.E. and Greenglass, E.R. (1989), “Psychological burnout among men and women inteaching: an examination of the Cherniss model”, Human Relations, Vol. 42 No. 3,
pp. 261-273.
Carbonneau, N., Vallerand, R.J., Fernet, C. and Guay, F. (2008), “The role of passion for teachingin intra and interpersonal outcomes”, Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 100 No. 4,
pp. 977-987.
Cardon, M.S., Wincent, J., Singh, J. and Drnovsek, M. (2009), “The nature and experience ofentrepreneurial passion”, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 34 No. 3, pp. 511-532.
Cardon, M.S., Zietsma, C., Saparito, P., Matherne, B. and Davis, C. (2005), “A tale of passion: new
insights into entrepreneurship from a parenthood metaphor”, Journal of Business
Venturing, Vol. 23 No. 1, pp. 23-45.
Carson, R.L., Baumgartner, J.J., Matthews, R.A. and Tsouloupas, C.N. (2010), “Emotional
exhaustion, absenteeism, and turnover intention in childcare teachers: examining theimpact of physical activity behaviors”, Journal of Health Psychology, Vol. 15 No. 6,
pp. 905-914.
Chen, X.P., Yao, X. and Kotha, S. (2009), “Entrepreneur passion and preparedness in businessplan presentations: a persuasion analysis of venture capitalists’ funding decisions”,
Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 52 No. 1, pp. 199-214.
Day, C. (2004), A Passion for Teaching, Routledge Falmer, London.
Deci, E.L. and Ryan, R.M. (1985), Intrinsic Motivation and Self-determination in Human Behavior,
Plenum Publishing, New York, NY.
Deci, E.L. and Ryan, R.M. (2000), “The ‘what’ and ‘why’ of goal pursuits: human needs and theself-determination of behavior”, Psychological Inquiry, Vol. 11 No. 4, pp. 227-268.
Diener, E., Emmons, R.A., Larsen, R.J. and Griffins, S. (1985), “The satisfaction with life scale”,
Journal of Personality Assessment, Vol. 49, pp. 71-75.
Fishbein, M. and Ajzen, I. (1975), Belief, Attitude, Intention, and Behavior: An Introduction to
Theory and Research, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA.
Forest, J., Mageau, G.A., Sarrazin, C. and Morin, E. (2011), “‘Work is my passion’: the different
affective, behavioural, and cognitive consequences of harmonious and obsessive passion
toward work”, Canadian Journal of Administrative Science, Vol. 28 No. 1, pp. 17-30.

On passion andheavy work
investment
41

JMP
29,1

42

Fredrickson, B.L. (2001), “The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: thebroaden-and-build theory of positive emotions”, American Psychologist, Vol. 56 No. 3,
pp. 218-226.
Fredrickson, B.L. and Branigan, C. (2005), “Positive emotions broaden the scope of attention andthought-action repertoires”, Cognition and Emotion, Vol. 19 No. 3, pp. 313-332.
Gagné, M. and Deci, E.L. (2005), “Self-determination theory and work motivation”, Journal of
Organizational Behavior, Vol. 26, pp. 331-362.
Gagné, M., Forest, J., Vansteenkiste, M., Crevier-Braud, L. and Van den Broeck, A. (2011),“Validation evidence in 10 languages for the revised motivation at work scale”,
Manuscript under review.
Glebbeek, A.C. and Hax, E.H. (2004), “Is high employee turnover really harmful? An empiricaltest using company records”, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 47 No. 2, pp. 277-286.
Gousse-Lessard, A-S. and Vallerand, R.J. (2011), “On the relative effects of passion andmotivation for the environment”, Manuscript in preparation.
Griffeth, R.W., Hom, P.W. and Gaertner, S. (2000), “A meta-analysis of antecedents and correlatesof employee turnover: update, moderator tests, and research implications for the next
millennium”, Journal of Management, Vol. 26 No. 3, pp. 463-488.
Grimmett, P.P. and Echols, F.H. (2000), “Teacher and administrator shortages in changing
times”, Canadian Journal of Education, Vol. 25 No. 4, pp. 328-343.
Hollenbeck, J.R. and Williams, C.R. (1986), “Turnover functionality versus turnover frequency: anote on work attitudes and organizational effectiveness”, Journal of Applied Psychology,
Vol. 71 No. 4, pp. 606-611.
Hom, P.W., Caranikas-Walker, F., Prussia, G.E. and Griffeth, R.W. (1992), “A meta-analyticalstructural equations analysis of a model of employee turnover”, Journal of Applied
Psychology, Vol. 77 No. 6, pp. 890-909.
Ilfeld, F.W. (1976), “Further validation of a psychiatric symptom index in a normal population”,
Psychological Reports, Vol. 39 No. 3, pp. 1215-1228.
Jöreskog, K.G. and Sörbom, D. (2003), LISREL 8.54 for Windows (Computer software), Scientific
Software International, Lincolnwood, IL.
Kim, H. and Stoner, M. (2008), “Burnout and turnover intention among social workers: effects ofrole stress, job autonomy and social support”, Administration in Social Work, Vol. 32 No. 3,
pp. 5-25.
Lafrenière, M-A., Bélanger, J., Sedikides, C. and Vallerand, R.J. (2011), “Self-esteem and passion
for activities. Personality and individual differences”, Personality and Individual
Differences, Vol. 51, pp. 514-544.
Liu, D., Chen, X-P. and Yao, X. (2011), “From autonomy to creativity: a multilevel investigation of
the mediating role of harmonious passion”, Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 96 No. 2,
pp. 294-309.
Ng, T.W.H., Sorensen, K.L. and Feldman, D.C. (2007), “Dimensions, antecedents, andconsequences of workaholism: a conceptual integration and extension”, Journal of
Organizational Behavior, Vol. 28 No. 1, pp. 111-136.
Oates, W. (1971), Confessions of a Workaholic: The Facts About Work Addiction, World
Publishing, New York, NY.
Philippe, F.L., Vallerand, R.J., Houlfort, N., Lavigne, G. and Donahue, E.G. (2010), “Passion for an
activity and quality of interpersonal relationships: the mediating role of emotions”, Journalof Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 98 No. 6, pp. 917-932.

Rousseau, F.L., Vallerand, R.J., Ratelle, C.F., Mageau, G.A. and Provencher, P.J. (2002), “Passion
and gambling: validation of the gambling passion scale (GPS)”, Journal of Gambling
Studies, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 45-66.
Schaufeli, W.B., Taris, T.W. and van Rhenen, W. (2008), “Workaholism, burnout, and work
engagement: three of a kind or three different kinds of employee well-being?”, Applied
Psychology: An International Review, Vol. 57 No. 2, pp. 173-203.
Schwab, R.L., Jackson, S.E. and Schuler, R.S. (1986), “Educator burnout: sources andconsequences”, Educational Research Quarterly, Vol. 10, pp. 14-30.
Spence, J.T. and Robbins, A.S. (1992), “Workaholism: definition, measurement, and preliminary
results”, Journal of Personality Assessment, Vol. 58 No. 1, pp. 160-178.
Snir, R. and Harpaz, I. (2011), “Beyond workaholism: towards a general model of heavy work
investment”, Human Resource Management Review, doi: 101016/jhrmr201111011.
Tett, R.P. and Meyer, J.P. (1993), “Job satisfaction, organizational commitment, turnover
intention, and turnover: path analysis based on meta-analytic findings”, Personnel
Psychology, Vol. 46 No. 2, pp. 259-293.
Vallerand, R.J. (1997), “Toward a hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation”, inZanna, M.P. (Ed.), Advances in Experimental and Social Psychology, Vol. 29, Academic
Press, New York, NY, pp. 271-360.
Vallerand, R.J. (2010), “On passion for life activities: the dualistic model of passion”, in Zanna,
M.P. (Ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 42, Academic Press, New
York, NY, pp. 97-193.
Vallerand, R.J. and Houlfort, N. (2003), “Passion at work: toward a new conceptualization”, in
Gilliland, S.W., Steiner, D.D. and Skarlicki, D.P. (Eds), Emerging Perspectives on Values in
Organizations, Information Age Publishing, Greenwich, CT, pp. 175-204.
Vallerand, R.J. and Miquelon, P. (2007), “Passion in sport: theory, research, and applications”, inLavallée, D. and Jowett, S. (Eds), Social Psychology in Sports, Human Kinetics, Champaign,IL, pp. 249-263.
Vallerand, R.J., Houlfort, N. and Forest, J. (n.d.), “Passion for work: determinants and outcomes”,
in Gagné, M. (Ed.), Oxford Handbook of Work Engagement, Motivation and
Self-Determination Theory, Oxford University Press, Oxford, in press.
Vallerand, R.J., Paquet, Y., Philippe, F.L. and Charest, J. (2010), “On the role of passion in burnout:a process model”, Journal of Personality, Vol. 78 No. 1, pp. 289-312.
Vallerand, R.J., Blanchard, C.M., Mageau, G.A., Koestner, R., Ratelle, C.F. and Léonard, M. (2003),“Les passions de l’âme: on obsessive and harmonious passion”, Journal of Personality andSocial Psychology, Vol. 85 No. 4, p. 756-767.
Vallerand, R.J., Rousseau, F.L., Grouzet, F.M., Dumais, A., Grenier, S. and Blanchard, C.M. (2006),“Passion in sport: a look at determinants and affective experiences”, Journal of Sport andExercise Psychology, Vol. 28 No. 4, pp. 454-478.
Waldman, J.D., Kelly, F., Arora, S. and Smith, H.L. (2004), “The shocking cost of turnover inhealth care”, Health Care Manage Review, Vol. 29 No. 1, pp. 2-7.
Williams, G.C., Grow, V.M., Freedman, Z.R., Ryan, R.M. and Deci, E.L. (1996), “Motivational
predictors of weight loss and weight-loss maintenance”, Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, Vol. 70 No. 1, pp. 115-126.
Zimmerman, R.D. and Darnold, T.C. (2009), “The impact of job performance on employee
turnover intentions and the voluntary turnover process: a meta-analysis and path model”,
Personnel Review, Vol. 38 No. 2, pp. 142-158.

On passion andheavy work
investment
43

JMP
29,1

44

Further reading
Grewal, R., Cote, J.A. and Baumgartner, H. (2004), “Multicollinearity and measurement error instructural equation models: implications for theory testing”, Marketing Science, Vol. 23
No. 4, pp. 519-529.
Harpaz, I. and Snir, R. (2003), “Workaholism: its definition and nature”, Human Relations, Vol. 56
No. 3, pp. 291-319.
Houlfort, N., Vallerand, R.J., Lavigne, G., Koestner, R., Forest, J., Crevier-Braud, L. and Benabou,
C. (2011), “On the role of passion for in workers’ psychological well-being”, Manuscript
submitted for publication.
Ingersoll, R.M. (2001), “Teacher turnover and teacher shortages: an organizational analysis”,
American Educational Research Journal, Vol. 38 No. 3, pp. 499-534.
Mageau, G.A., Vallerand, R.J., Rousseau, F.L., Ratelle, C.F. and Provencher, P.J. (2005), “Passion
and gambling: investigating the divergent affective and cognitive consequences ofgambling”, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Vol. 25, pp. 100-118.
Philippe, F.L. and Vallerand, R.J. (2007), “Prevalence rates of gambling problems in Montreal,
Canada: a look at old adults and the role of passion”, Journal of Gambling Studies, Vol. 23
No. 3, pp. 275-283.
Ratelle, C.F., Vallerand, R.J., Mageau, G.A., Rousseau, F.L. and Provencher, P. (2004), “Whenpassion leads to pathology: a look at gambling”, Journal of Gambling Studies, Vol. 20 No. 2,
pp. 105-119.
Rousseau, F.L. and Vallerand, R.J. (2003), “Le rôle de la passion dans le bien-être subjectif desainés (‘The rôle of passion in elderly’s well-being’)”, Revue Québécoise de Psychologie,Vol. 24, pp. 197-211.
Rousseau, F.L. and Vallerand, R.J. (2008), “An examination of the Relationship between passion
and subjective well-being in older adults”, International Journal of Aging and Human
Development, Vol. 66, pp. 195-212.
Scott, K.S., Moore, K.S. and Miceli, M.P. (1997), “An exploration of the meaning and consequencesof workaholism”, Human Relations, Vol. 50 No. 3, pp. 287-314.
Wilhelm, K., Dewhurst-Savellis, J. and Parker, G. (2000), “Teacher stress? An analysis of why
teachers leave and why they stay”, Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, Vol. 6,
pp. 291-304.
About the authors
Nathalie Houlfort is Professor of Psychology at Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada. Her
research focuses on the motivational processes involved in workers’ well-being, work-life
conflicts and knowledge transfer. Her current research interests include the determinants andconsequences of passion for work, boundary work management and the role of individual andgroup motivation in successful knowledge transfer strategies. Nathalie Houlfort is thecorresponding author and can be contacted at: houlfort.nathalie@uqam.ca
Frédérick L. Philippe is Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the
University of Quebec at Montreal. His research interests focus on motivation and social
cognition.
Professor Robert J. Vallerand is a Full Professor of Social Psychology and Director of theLaboratoire de Recherche sur le Comportement Social in the Department of Psychology at the
Université du Québec à Montréal. Professor Vallerand has served as Head of the Psychology
Department at his university as well as President of both the Quebec Society for Research in
Psychology and the Canadian Psychological Association. He is currently President of theInternational Positive Psychology Association (IPPA). He has served or serves as Consulting

Editor for several of the top international journals in the field and has supervised to completion anumber of students, including 20 who are now university professors across Canada and Europe.
Professor Vallerand is recognized as a leading international expert on motivational processes
where he has developed theories dealing with intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, as well as
passion for activities. He has written or edited six books and around 250 scientific articles andbook chapters. His research has been cited over 6,000 times and he has received several millions
in research grants. Professor Vallerand has received numerous awards and honors from over adozen learned societies, including being elected a Fellow of the International Association ofApplied Psychology, the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological
Science, the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, the Royal Society of Canada, andothers. He has also received the Adrien Pinard Career Award from the Quebec Society for
Research in Psychology, the Donald O. Hebb Career Award from the Canadian Psychological
Association (the highest research awards for a psychologist in Quebec and Canada, respectively),
and the Sport Science Award from the International Olympic Committee.
Julie Ménard is Professor of Psychology at Université du Quebec in Montreal, Canada. Her
main research interests are currently recovery from work and stress management. During her
doctorate, she worked on authenticity and well-being at University of Montreal in Canada. She
also worked as a postdoctoral fellow at City University in London, UK, studying the ability to
psychologically detach from work.

To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: reprints@emeraldinsight.com
Or visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints

On passion andheavy work
investment45