New Study Investigates Negative Effects of Being Obsessively Passionate About Your Job

New research has explained why being obsessively passionate about one’s job may have maladaptive and negative outcomes for a person. University of Manitoba professor Benjamin Schellenberg, the lead author of the study, stated that obsessively passionate individuals reported lower levels of psychological well-being and also experienced more stress, anxiety and negative emotions.

The researchers’ objective was to find out why obsessive passion was common in the workplace, despite these negative consequences. For their study, the researchers carried out a series of studies that evaluated lay beliefs about passion from a number of perspectives. Every participant in each study was instructed to imagine themselves in different scenarios in the workplace, which included working for a new supervisor and applying for a promotion. They found that in all cases, individuals argued that being obsessively passionate would result in more success in workplaces with bottom-line mentalities.

Schellenberg explained that a workplace with a bottom-line mentality focused solely on performance, profits and productivity, paying little attention to other things such as personal relationships and employee wellness.

The study shares some similarities with the dualistic model of passion, which distinguishes between obsessive passion and harmonious passion. The model was developed by Dr. Robert Vallerand at the University of Quebec. Obsessive and harmonious passion both involve devoting a great deal of energy and time toward an activity that an individual loves. However, there’s also a crucial difference between the two. Obsessive passion requires an individual to engage in an activity to the point of becoming fully preoccupied with it. On the other hand, harmonious passion suggests pursuing an activity with a sense of flexibility and balance.

Schellenberg noted that there were studies that had found a link between obsessive passion and some adaptive outcomes in certain situations; evidence also showed that harmonious passion was associated with numerous positive outcomes for many individuals in most situations. These outcomes included positive emotional experiences as well as better interpersonal relationship quality and well-being.

In addition to this, he explained that workplaces with bottom-line mentalities could be problematic because they caused employees to focus on achieving bottom-line outcomes through any means, including ethically problematic behaviors such as cutting corners.

He also encouraged individuals who were in workplaces with bottom-line mentalities that valued individuals who were obsessively passionate to remain harmoniously passionate. This is because studies outside of the workplace had found that high-performance levels could be attained when an individual’s passion was largely harmonious.

Other researchers who were part of the study include Daniel S. Bailis and Patrick Gaudreau.

Mental health issues are cropping up due to a variety of factors, such as obsessive compulsion with one’s work/job. This is why many more companies, including Cybin Inc. (NYSE American: CYBN) (NEO: CYBN), could consider developing novel treatments that will be more effective than the remedies currently on the market so that the upsurge of cases can be dealt with decisively.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Cybin Inc. (NEO: CYBN) (NYSE American: CYBN) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/CYBN

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