Work Passion- Conceptualization of An Emerging Concept in India

Abstract

'Work passion' is one human capability that contributes most towards the value creation, yet remains untapped in organizational research. In response, we provide an initial conceptualization of 'work passion' construct in Indian context. In doing so, we first reviewed the explicit definitions of passion available in various contexts. In our next step, we conducted personal interviews of 21 individuals from wide range of occupation to understand the meaning of 'work passion' from Indian perspective. At last, after integrating the findings of literature and qualitative analysts of personal interviews, we defined 'work passion' as a psychological state which is characterized by: a] love for one's work experienced through the feeling of Joy and vitality at work, b) sense of self-motivation to do one's work, c] seeing one's identity in terms of one's work and d) willingness to learn and improve continuously. This study provides some important directions for future research focused on work passion as well.