Pursuing Other Passions
It always feels like we’re constantly told to pursue work that we’re passionate about. At least in the United States, this advice follows people from school and into their careers. As billionaire investor Ray Dalio states in his book Principles, “make your passion and your work the same thing.”This is supposed to be the path to success.
This is possibly why a recent study found that young people ’s highest priority is achieving their career passion – above making money or getting married. Finding the ideal job was apparently almost three times more important than having a family by the teenage respondents.
However, this just realistically isn’t possible for many people. Not every job gives you this option, and most people care deeply about many different things — not all of which will be how they want to earn a living. New and growing research suggests that pursuing your passion does indeed improve your well-being but that where you do it is far less critical. In fact, several studies show that doing something you are passionate about outside of work rather than in it benefits both your career and your personal life.
Why we should pursue passion outside of work
While pursuing passion at work is known to increase work engagement and job performance, it’s both unrealistic and risky to rely on work as the only means through which to do so. Some jobs don’t allow employees to focus on their interests, and the jobs that do aren’t always an option financially. It could be seen that following and finding passion at work is a luxury for the privileged few — those who are able to choose exactly the right professions.
It’s important to realise that pursuing passion at work is a modern mindset — and one relatively unique to the United States. In other countries, particularly European ones, people more often find fulfillment outside of work. For example, nearly half of Germans are members of at least one after-work club. In the U.S., by contrast, only few Americans have hobbies that they regularly pursue.
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Why is this? Being busy at work has become a status symbol in the U.S, and we’re also more connected to our jobs than ever thanks to our smartphones. American workers appear to compete in who puts in the most hours. Another reason for our current state of overwork is financial insecurity. One in three middle-class families are living paycheck to paycheck, which leads to a larger focus on work. Brigid Schulte, author of Overwhelmed, describes the long hours and difficulty of switching off in her book: “That’s so indicative of where we are in our culture right now, that you can actually forget what it is to have something you like to do that’s not a) tied to work and b) productive.”
Lessons for employees and managers
We call on employees to rethink the pursuit of passion, remembering that they can do it at work or outside of it. We also advise managers to help their employees with this.
One way to pursue your passion outside of work is to build on the lessons of “job crafting,” the idea that employees can find ways to make their roles more closely reflect what they care about. You can also craft your job to allow for more time for non-work passions. For instance, if you have some level of autonomy over your hours, you could start your day earlier to make more time in the evening for pursuing other interests.
These extracurricular activities can be a way to develop new skills, meet new people and communities, or decompress. How do you find the right ones for you? First, ask yourself what you care about and then evaluate whether you find or do it at work. If you have a passion that you haven’t been able to pursue, that can be one starting point. Outside of work, you have the freedom to try new things out, so experiment. It often helps to find other people who care deeply about what you’re trying so you get pulled into their passion orbit and find a sense of community.
Another way to pursue non-work passions is through volunteering. Research also indicates that volunteering allows you to express personally meaningful values and that, the more passionate you feel towards the cause, the more benefits you’ll derive. You can look at whether your company has corporate volunteering groups or what outside opportunities are available in your area.
Managers play a vital role in helping employees achieve all of this. Although people might want to take up a new hobby or class or participate in a club, it’s often hard to do so when work hours are long or unpredictable and bosses expect complete dedication to the job. Leaders must step in to encourage and support workers — by scheduling more predictable time off (i.e., allowing employees to choose time protected from potential work requests), offering volunteer or extracurricular programs, or simply encouraging people to spend time on what they love.
Pursuing your passion offers an array of benefits, but only a privileged few can do this on the job. More of us should instead look for personal activities that are tied to what we care about. When we do, we will lead full lives and also bring our best selves to work.
Guest Post by Coach Cappa
www.cappamindandbody.com