THE JOB CAN KILL YOU OR MAKE YOU STRONGER: THE ROLE OF PASSION IN JOB DEMANDS, WORK MOTIVATIONAL IMBALANCE, AND WORK-LIFE CONFLICT

This research examined the relationship between job demands, dualistic passion, proneness to work motivational imbalance, and work-life conflict in a sample of Italian employees (N = 525) enrolled in a cross-sectional study. Specifically, we hypothesized and found that the positive association between job demands and work-life conflict was significantly mediated by the proneness to work motivational imbalance. However, the relation between job demands and proneness to imbalance was moderated by passion for work. Specifically, the relationship between job demands and proneness to work motivational imbalance was stronger in employees with high (vs. low) obsessive passion; the same relationship did not occur in employees with high harmonious passion, suggesting that harmonious passion might be a protective personal resource against job demands. These findings could shed light on practical lines of intervention aimed at counteracting the negative effects of job demands such as motivational imbalance and work-life conflict.