A study of employee passion at a technology business incubator in KwaZulu-Natal.

Abstract

Employees who are passionate about what they do will be both happier and more productive at work (Robertson-Smith & Markwick, 2009). Their passion stems from caring deeply about what they do or where they work and being personally invested in and motivated by its mission.This qualitative study investigated the passion(s) of seven employees of a technology business incubator in Durban, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. The objectives of this study were to explore how the employees of this business incubator define passion, to explore whether they were / are passionate about their jobs / careers and finally to explore whether these employees experience / experienced any barriers to pursuing their passion(s). The participants in this study found it difficult to define passion(s). They mostly defined passion(s) in terms that reflected strong positive emotions. Most participants were ambivalent about their passion for their jobs / careers. Background and personal circumstances have played a significant role in preventing many of the participants in this study from pursuing their passion(s). Following this study, it is recommended that further research be conducted to further our understanding of the role of passion(s) for employees of business incubators in order to enhance employee passion and organisational performance. Keywords: employees, passion, business incubator, barriers and organisational performance.