The Passion Trap in Modern Employment

“Bring your passion!” It sounds inspiring—until it becomes a trap. In this episode, we unpack the rise of “passion” as a job requirement, and how hobbies once meant for joy have been transformed into performance metrics. With job postings now explicitly demanding emotional devotion, passion has become both a ticket to promotions and a smokescreen for declining performance that managers too often ignore. Worse still, it gives employers moral cover to exploit their most committed workers—asking them to stay late, accept lower pay, or sacrifice boundaries in the name of loving what they do. We examine why constant displays of enthusiasm can warp judgment, erode work-life balance, and push employees into unhealthy, unsustainable careers. Is passion still empowering—or has it become the newest workplace hazard?https://www.economist.com/business/2023/02/09/the-pitfalls-of-loving-your-job-a-little-too-much