Every employer needs passionate people at work. It is, without a doubt, the single most desirable trait that will make you invaluable to your boss.
Business owners know that only energetic and impassioned team members guarantee continual performance gains for their companies. Visionary leaders understand that these types of employees have the resilience necessary to withstand constant market challenges, and disruptions.
However, a 2014 study by Deloitte’s indicated that a staggering 87.7 percent of the employees in the United States don’t have passion for their work.
Based on experience, I believe these figures are not dissimilar, in the Malaysian context.
The irony is that you want to get promoted; you expect regular salary increments; you feel it is your right to get a year-end bonus; but you are not at all passionate about your job.
How is that logical?
Perhaps many people do not fully grasp the benefits of being passionately engaged in their chosen jobs.
So, I’d like to share with you my top ten reasons why you should be passionate at work.
1. Passion helps you focus
I remind everyone I work with that “passion” is a state of mind. If you are passionate about your job, you will be interested in the outcomes of your work-product. Consequently, you become more focused. And, this helps you function effectively and accurately while executing your tasks.
2. Passion gets your creative juices flowing
Working with passion ensures that you have more highs, rather than lows. It increases your engagement levels, which results in you being more creative. This allows you to generate better ideas, and solutions.
3. Passion sets you up for excellence
When you do your work with passion, you will want to win at everything you do. You become vested in excelling at your tasks. And when this happens, you will always be performing at optimal levels.
4. Passion increases your ability to contribute
Passion helps you maintain constant effort, and this increases your ability to contribute to your team. It increases your desire to succeed therefore you will be willing to give total commitment to what you do.
5. Passion brings you energy
I know that when I wake up in the morning, and I am working on something that I truly like, I get a tremendous surge of energy. People often ask me how they can sustain high levels of engagements while being part of multiple ventures. There’s no secret formula here. I just share my own experience. I only have energy when I feel that I am emotionally engaged with what I do. This emotional connection turns into positive energy that sustains me all day long.
6. Passions helps you manage stress
If you have passion at work, you tend to be less stressed out. Passionate people really like the work that they do. When they encounter problems, they are able to deftly navigate around them. They do not get bogged down, and don’t wallow in self-pity. As a result, they manage stress far better than someone who is dispassionate about their work, and feels like a victim.
7. Passion helps you manage your workload
The reality is that most of you will spend the majority of your waking hours at work. Surely, doing something you are passionate about is a prerequisite for making these hours pleasurable? The trick is to do work that doesn’t seem like a burden. You will never have the Monday Blues, if you are actually like what you do.
8. Passion fuels achievement
Ask anyone who has ever achieved anything significant in their career, and they will tell you that they have had to fend off all kinds of problems, and obstacles. If you look back at your achievements in life thus far, I am certain that you will remember moments when you have had to dig deep into the reservoirs of personal resilience to overcome problems. It is your passion that kept you going because it fortifies you against pressure, and fuels achievement.
9. Passion helps your increase your skills
When you are motivated by passion, you will keep learning new things. Your ability to up-skill is predicated on your desire to learn. And being passionate about results helps you understand that you only get paid for your skills and knowledge. This will motivate you to become serious about learning.
10. Passion gives you the right attitude
The most successful people I know, care deeply about their work. They have self-imposed benchmarks about what results they need to deliver. This type of passion ensures that your outlook is founded on purpose. And this directly affects your attitude towards everything.
If you examine my list closely, you will find that these traits are exactly what an employer wants from anyone they hire. And, if you have these qualities, your personal value grows exponentially.
The people who employ you must see value in nurturing you, offering you growth pathways, presenting you with opportunities to learn, and rewarding you for your efforts.
Remember to work on developing your “passion-quotient”, if you want success in your career.
Shankar R. Santhiram is managing consultant and executive leadership coach at EQTD Consulting. He is also the author of the national bestseller “So, You Want To Get Promoted?”