On the nature, predictors, and outcomes of work passion profiles: A comparative study across samples of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian employees

Abstract

Based on the dualistic model of passion, we conducted person-centered analyses to assess how harmonious and obsessive passion for work combine within distinct profiles of employees and document the associations between these profiles and theoretically relevant predictors and outcomes. We also investigate whether the nature of these profiles, and their associations with predictors and outcomes, differs between samples of Australian Indigenous ( N = 591; 66.0% female, M age = 41.87) and non-Indigenous ( N = 605; 56.0% female, M age = 44.79) employees. Our results uncovered four profiles, which were replicated across both samples of employees: Harmonious Passion Dominant, Obsessive Passion Dominant, Mixed Passion-Obsessive Passion Dominant, and Low Passion. Role ambiguity and job overload were found to be related to employees’ likelihood of profile membership in a way that was similar across both samples. Finally, psychological well-being and resilience at work differed as a function of profile membership in a way that was replicated across samples. In addition to the theoretical implications for research on work passion, these results clearly highlight how work passion has highly similar implications for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian employees. JEL Classification: I3 Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty