The Kenexa® Research Institute (KRI) asked, “What makes an employee passionate about his/her job?” The data come from an analysis of the WorkTrends™ database, an annual survey of worker opinions conducted by KRI.

Having passion for one’s job is defined by the extent to which employees are excited about their work, feel a sense of personal accomplishment, are extremely satisfied with their organization, believe they have a future at their organization, and rarely think about finding a new job.

Globally, 56% of surveyed employees feel passionate about their jobs. Employees in India (72%), Brazil (63%), Canada (60%), and the United States and Germany (59%) report the most passion followed by those in Saudi Arabia and Russia (58%). Workers in Japan (41%) are the least likely to feel passionate.

Employees in the United States report that they are passionate about their jobs when their skills and abilities are put to good use; they can meet career objectives and still devote time to personal obligations; have an opportunity for development; have confidence in the company’s future; and are recognized for their work.

The intensity to which employees are passionate about their jobs varies among different jobs types. In the United States, senior/middle managers (68%) report the most passion for their jobs followed by professional/technical workers (65%), supervisors and salespeople (57%), and clerical workers (56%). Service and production workers (55%) report the least amount of passion.

In the United States, having passion for one’s job also varies notably across industries. Workers in the hi-tech industry (66%) are the most passionate, followed by those in the healthcare services (63%), financial (60%), manufacturing (57%) and government (56%) industries. Those in retail (55%) report the lowest levels of passion.

Brenda Kowske, Ph.D., research consultant, Kenexa Research Institute, said, “Similar to romantic passion, workers won’t put up with a miserable relationship for long. As the economic outlook continues to improve, it would behoove leaders to ‘play cupid.’ Elevating an employee’s passion for his/her job will keep employees happy and committed, even when other attractive opportunities come their way.”

Database Overview
The WorkTrends database is a comprehensive normative database of employee opinions on topics including leadership, employee engagement and customer orientation. In 2009, approximately 10,000 U.S. citizens, and 1,000 individuals in each of the following countries/regions took the WorkTrends survey online: Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Spain, and the United Kingdom, and 750 individuals in Russia. The Gulf Co-op Council (GCC) countries of the Middle East were also surveyed to a lesser extent due to surveying limitation in that region of the world. The GCC countries include the Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait. Altogether, 21,920 employees were surveyed in 2009.

Study Details
The WorkTrends survey questions used to evaluate workers level of passion for their jobs were:

1. Overall, I am extremely satisfied with my company as a place to work.
2. I rarely think about looking for a new job with another company.
3. My work gives me a feeling of personal accomplishment.
4. I feel there is a promising future for me at my company.
5. I get excited about my work.

Opinion items were rated using a 5-point Likert-like scale. The percentage favorable is the percentage of employees who chose either of the two most positive answers (typically “strongly agree” or “agree”).

Survey Results
Having passion for one’s job is defined by the extent to which employees are excited about their work, feel a sense of personal accomplishment, are extremely satisfied with their organization, believe they have a future at their organization, and rarely think about finding a new job.