The daily The time pointed a well-known phenomenon, that of “passionate jobs”, jobs that we occupy above all because they give meaning to our lives and correspond to our values, but which often hide very bad practices. “After college, notes the German newspaper, many young people thus choose to work in the culture, education or NGO sectors, even if they generally earn much less than in the private sector. The problem is that they often don’t understand how badly they are being treated.”
Indeed, it is not because the purpose of an organization is noble that it treats its employees well, far from it. A in-depth study conducted by researchers at Duke University in the United States found that people who are particularly passionate about their work are more likely to be exploited. For example, they work more unpaid overtime or take on tasks that are not on their job description without extra pay. And superiors generally expect the work to be rewarding enough to be done almost for free, for the beauty of the gesture!
Management practices from another age
According to Tim Hagemann, occupational psychologist, this could be due to obsolete management structures that have lasted longer than elsewhere, with executives without management skills, for example. And that comes at a health cost:
“If employers don’t give enough back, whether it’s just recognition or even a higher salary, the sacrifice can quickly lead to burnout.”
Companies and organizations therefore need to pay more attention to the mental health of their employees – “in a market [du travail] close to full employment and a context of growing shortage of skilled workers, even the supposedly most honorable institution cannot afford poor working conditions in the long term”, highlighted The time.
However, Karolin König-Baykan, career coach and stress management consultant in Frankfurt, wants to qualify this statement. For her, the problem can also come from the employees themselves, when they do not impose limits. It is a great classic of the “passion professions”: “We don’t even notice when it gets too much,” she points out.
Tamina Ehlert (her name has been changed at her request) was in this case, even if the bad management had a lot to do with it. She was proud of her work, so instead of denouncing the poor conditions in which she performed it, she worked overtime until she was exhausted. “I identified so much with the work that I didn’t want to acknowledge how unhappy I was,” she remembers.
“Temporary contracts, lack of personal fulfillment and poor salaries: I was taught that if it’s for a good cause, you have to live with it.”
Fortunately, she has now found another position in a smaller but, above all, more respectful structure. She hasn’t had to compromise on her values and always finds meaning in what she does. Simply, she is able to work better and live better.
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