ABSTRACT Research Question This study is focused on passion among sport employees and asks the research question, ‘How do harmonious and obsessive passion interact to influence sport employees’ motivation to work?’ The study uses Self-Determination Theory and qualitative data to offer a deeper understanding of sport employee work passion. Research Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted to generate meanings pertaining to passion in the sport industry. In total, 17 full-time sport employees from North America participated in the study. Results and Findings By analyzing the experiences of participants we were able to identify the composition of sport work passion. Specifically, passion is conceptualized as a continuum including both harmonious and obsessive passion. The study informs how passion is paradoxical in that it can result in both positive and negative outcomes for sport employees and organizations. These negative outcomes are proposed to be amplified when obsessive passion becomes dominant. This study positions passion as a nuanced construct because of its potential to support generative outcomes for sport employees (e.g. positive emotional states and productivity) and organizations (e.g. retention of employees), but conversely, passion, if left unregulated, may produce negative outcomes such as mental exhaustion. Implications The results of the study provide a better understanding of the complexities of passion in the sport workplace by describing the confluence of motivation and emotions among sport employees, and the challenges for sport managers in utilizing their employees’ passion.
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