Got Resources? A Multi-Sample Constructive Replication of Perceived Resource Availability’s Role in Work Passion–Job Outcomes Relationships

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the moderating effect of perceived resource availability on the relationship between work passion and employee well-being (i.e., job satisfaction and job tension) and performance (i.e., job performance and citizenship behaviors) using self-determination theory. Data were obtained through surveys distributed via an online platform (Sample 1) and to employees of three professional organizations: a municipal agency (Sample 2), an engineering firm (Sample 3), and an advertising organization (Sample 4). The interaction between employees’ work passion and their perceptions of available resources was associated with employees’ well-being and performance, such that greater work passion was associated with positive outcomes when resources were perceived as available. Conversely, heightened work passion was associated with job tension and fewer positive benefits when perceived available resources were low. Work passion is often touted by employers as a valuable characteristic for employees, but, as these findings suggest, there are conditions that must be met in order for employees to experience positive well-being and performance outcomes. This information will likely prove invaluable for those employers seeking to best support their passionate employees. Research into the area of work passion is small but growing, and this study provides valuable insight into a key boundary condition for the effectiveness of passion: perceived resource availability. Additionally, this study identifies circumstances in which passionate employees actually experience a negative work outcome. Further, the multiple samples and constructive replication employed help provide confidence and a strong empirical foundation for the results.