Lay theories of obsessive passion and performance: It all depends on the bottom line

Abstract

Obsessive passion predicts many maladaptive workplace outcomes (Vallerand & Houlfort, 2019). However, we hypothesized that people hold the lay belief that obsessive passion is needed to succeed in workplaces that focus on singular objectives (e.g., productivity) at the expense of competing goals (e.g., well-being) – that is, workplaces characterized by bottom-line mentalities (Greenbaum et al., 2012). In three studies (total N = 911) we assessed lay beliefs about passion from different perspectives, including perceptions of others (Study 1), the way people presented themselves and believed others should present themselves (Study 2), and estimates of one's own success in different workplaces (Study 3). In support of our hypothesis, participants believed that, in workplaces characterized by bottom-line mentalities, they and others would be more likely to achieve success with high levels of obsessive passion. This means that lay beliefs about passion may be a force that promotes and sustains obsessive passion in workplaces focused exclusively on bottom-line outcomes.