Your job doesn't have to be your passion

Published in: Harvard Business Review - 04 June 2021

Written by

Lauren Howe, Jon Michael Jachimowicz and Jochen Menges

Summary

What we found: While people often look for a job based on their passion, there are some downsides to this approach. Career seekers can instead aim for a job that enables their passion through the resources it provides.

Why it matters: Pursuing passions outside of work rather than through it, enables healthy boundaries between work and personal lives and allows us to pursue or evolve our passions without having to worry about economic success. Taking a broader view of passion as something that can be pursued through work but also outside of it can help us live passion-fueled lives in whatever way works best for us.

What next: Career seekers can ponder whether they need to pursue their passion through a job or whether it might be better to find a job that allows them to pursue passion outside of it.Instead of asking ‘How can I find a job that I’m passionate about?’ try asking yourself ‘Which jobs will allow me to pursue my passion outside of work?’.