The Pitfalls of Pursuing Your Passion at Work with Sociologist Erin Cech

Everyday Better with Leah Smart

Erin Cech is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Michigan and the author of The Trouble with Passion: How Searching for Fulfillment at Work Fosters Inequality. She studies societal inequality and cultural forces which reproduce inequality.

On this week’s episode of Everyday Better, Erin and Leah discuss what can happen when we turn our passion into a career. While many people believe this is the key to that feeling of never working a day in your life, the “passion principle,” as Erin calls it, doesn’t necessarily pave the way to personal fulfillment or financial stability. Instead, she argues, this advice can perpetuate socioeconomic inequality and unfair working conditions. She poses a question everyone should ask themselves when considering their career: what kind of relationship do you want to paid employment?

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For more on the passion principle and its pitfalls, check out Erin’s book The Trouble with Passion: How Searching for Fulfillment at Work Fosters Inequality.

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