Employers have to find the employees with passion

Being excited about your work may seem like such a pipe dream that many employers often see it as suspicious and question their employees that seem genuinely interested in bettering the company.

According to Deloitte Insights, 87.7% of people lack passion at work. They do not enjoy their work, nor are they encouraged to problem solve and better the company. Deloitte describes a dream employee, who looks for creative ways to solve problems, understands the field, wants to improve their performance, and is well connected to people within the company and their related fields.  Unfortunately, this person is rare, and these talents won’t show up within the talent acquisition phase.  The dream employee described is motivated because of their passion within the field. Deloitte uses the example of Christopher Strieter, a co-founder of Senses Wine, who was driven by his like of wine to become successful in the market and seek out opportunities that would allow him to work with what he loved.

This kind of passion needs to be celebrated within the workplace because it’s what drives employees to want to do better and actually support their business rather than just get the work done.

This article reminded me of the quote “if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life.”  This quote is such a stock quote that I feel most people see as an unattainable reality.  However, as this article shows, working within the field you are passionate about is possible.  It's the employers’ job to search for those people and cultivate their passion, allowing them to grow in the role rather than dimming their love of the subject. 

As Deloitte Insights explores, it's the passion people have for their work that leads them to grow and develop at the company. Therefore, passion must be sought out and celebrated rather than seen as a threat.

Written by: Bryn Garick

Source: Hagel, J., Brown, J., & Ranjan, A. (2014). Passion at work. Deloitte Insights. Retrieved June 12, 2022, from https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/topics/talent/worker-passion-employee-behavior.html