[Pronounced Y-on Yah-Hee-Mo-Vitch]
he/him/his
Associate Professor, Management & Organization, Penn State Smeal
Co-Founder & Co-Director, Initative for Meaningful Work
jonj [at] psu [dot] edu
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I study the experience, antecedents, and consequences of passion. My work reveals that scholars and the broader public often fundamentally misunderstand passion.
In line with the popular adage, “if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life,” many participants in my studies believe that it is easy to pursue their passion, but my research shows it is actually difficult to do so. In fact, the German word for passion, Leidenschaft, translates to “the ability to endure hardship,” hinting at its demanding nature. Prior literature also commonly assumes that when it comes to passion, “you either have it or you don’t,” but my research shows that passion fluctuates day-to-day, or even within each day. And perhaps most importantly, scholars often position passion as a resource that can address countless challenges, from motivating employees to tackling social issues, but my research shows that sustaining passion over the long term is its own challenge, and requires proactive effort from individuals, managers, and organizations.
My research suggests that these misconceptions can create a vicious cycle that impedes people from realizing the benefits of pursuing passion. My research leverages both theory and data to offer practical pathways for people and organizations to overcome these pitfalls and unlock the true potential of passion.
Together with Kira Schabram, I co-founded and co-lead the Initative for Meaningful Work in 2026. Our mission is to “function as a hub to generate, promote, and disseminate research on how individuals discover and thrive in meaningful pursuits. These research endeavors support community building and outreach, excellence in teaching, and collaborations with organizational partners.” More to follow soon.
I received a Ph.D. from Columbia Business School, M.Phil. from the University of Cambridge, and undergraduate degree from the University of St Andrews. I was listed as a Rising Star by the Association for Psychological Science, a Poets & Quants 40 under 40 honoree, a Forbes 30 under 30, and on the Thinkers 50 Radar List. I was previously on the faculty of the Harvard Business School for 7 years. My work has been published in leading academic journals, including the Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, Organization Science, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Nature Human Behaviour, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and others.
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