As we return to work in this new year, some might wonder if they should not pursue an other career or take a break. As part of my neuroscience study, I wrote a literature research paper to check if it was a good idea to turn your hobby into a job. Some research had been conducted and I concluded that taking into account the risks and benefits of hobby-jobs, it would be better for the aspiring hobby-workers not to follow their passion but to bring the passion they have in their hobby in everything they do, including their current professional life.
I didn't follow my own advice though and decided nevertheless to change career and pursue my passion in coaching and training instead. Time will tell if this was the right decision.
The abstract of the paper:
Due to societal and technological changes, more people are turning their hobbies into jobs. These hobby-workers are deeply identified with their vocation, which provides them with higher professional satisfaction and meaning than they would get from a traditional career. This same identification, however, exposes them to risks that they have not necessarily foreseen at the time of their decision. Low level of variety in the hobby-job, additional constraints associated with self-employment and getting less restorative benefits from their former hobby might lead the individual to emotional exhaustion and burnout. These risks, if dangerous to the well-being of the individual, are well understood and can be mitigated in ways that ensure the hobby-worker will realize his or her expectation of deeper professional satisfaction, efficacy and meaning. New re-search, however, is required to better understand and mitigate additional hobby-jobs risks related to social anxiety and over-justification effect.
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