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At any moment, organizations may face a range of crises, from global pandemics and economic depressions to business catastrophes -- all of which can strain operational processes and performance (Wright et al., 2020; Williams et al., 2017). Research suggests that crises can also engender positive organizational growth, learning, and identity (Fink et al., 1971), which may trickle down to the group and individual levels. However, the dynamics underpinning the interplay of organizational-, group-, and individual-level shifts in meaning of work amidst "a backdrop of change and 'outside' elements" (Cheney & Thompkins, 1987: 5) remain largely underexplored. Research that addresses meaning of work in times of crisis and change not only helps to close this gap, but also enables scholars to understand when and why thriving (vs. decline) amidst crisis occurs. This symposium brings together five field-based investigations to focus on the interplay of individual, group, and organizational dynamics around the meaning of work in the context of crisis. First, Jiang and Cho quantitatively examine the macro effects of a societal level crisis and how a societal crisis can trigger a personal one in terms of individuals' meaning of work; in particular, they uncover that one's meaning of work can be temporarily unsettled by an external, societal-level crisis. Second, Gorges explores people's experiences of downshifting--defined as a voluntary long-term change to spend less time on work and more time on leisure--following a large global crisis, namely, the COVID-19 pandemic. Third, Eun examines how callings are expressed in crises, such as the COVID-19 crisis, illuminating not only the prevailing prosocial nature of callings, but also revealing work orientations as an important input to crisis behaviors. Fourth, Sala considers the effects of occupational level threats and how they affect individuals' sense of self and meaning. Finally, Rocheville and colleagues unpack the effects of individual-level crises in illuminating how workers in chronic pain create and/or sustain a positive meaning of work. Sally Maitlis, a distinguished scholar of how people make sense of challenges and trauma at work in meaningful ways, will serve as the discussant to highlight both theoretical and practical implications as well as future research directions. Crisis within a Crisis: The Destabilizing Effect of Societal Crises on Individual Work Orientation Author: Winnie Jiang; INSEAD Author: Yuna Cho; HKU Business School, The U. of Hong Kong Downshifting: A Voluntary Career Shift to Reduce Work Hours Author: Megan Gorges; Harvard Business School Putting Callings to the Test: Prosocial Behaviors in a Crisis Associated with Calling Orientations Author: Eunice Eun; Yale School of Management Out of Service? Individual Experiences of an Occupational Identity Existential Threat Author: Gabriel Robert Sala; Northeastern U. Chronic Pain as a Crisis: The Role of Work-Body Ideologies in Sustaining Positive Meaning of Work Author: Kimberly Rocheville; Creighton U. Author: Elana Feldman; UMass Lowell Author: Beth Schinoff; Boston College Author: Njoke Thomas; Boston College [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pursuing passion for work is highly valuable to both employees and their organizations. However, many employees struggle to pursue and maintain their passion over time, a challenge which may be exacerbated by underlying inequalities. The papers in this symposium demonstrate the pitfalls and underlying inequalities which complicate the pursuit of passion. Across four presentations, we show that (1) the experience of passion is fundamentally self-limiting, that (2) employees do not give up on a job with poor working conditions because of their passion, (3) gender inequalities in the household place an additional burden on women's pursuit of passion, and (4) mid-performing passionate men are better evaluated than mid-performing passionate women. Together, these presentations recast our understanding of passion, demonstrating that passion can at times drain employees, and may even exacerbate underlying inequalities. * Challenge of Maintaining Passion for Work Over Time: A Dynamic Perspective on Passion and Exhaustion * Presenter: Joy Bredehorst; Boston Consulting Group * Presenter: Kai Krautter; Harvard U. * Presenter: Jirs Meuris; U. of Wisconsin-Madison * Presenter: Jon Michael Jachimowicz; Harvard Business School * People that Give Up on a Passion Overestimate the Negativity of Observers' Judgments * Presenter: Zachariah Berry; Cornell U. * Presenter: Brian J. Lucas; Cornell U. * How Daily Passion-Fueled Increases in Working Hours Exacerbate Gender Inequality * Presenter: Kai Krautter; Harvard U. * Presenter: Megan Gorges; Harvard Business School * Presenter: Zachariah Berry; Cornell U. * Presenter: Sarah Ward; U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign * Presenter: Jon Michael Jachimowicz; Harvard Business School * Perceptions of Passion Boost the Status and Potential of Average-Performing Men Only * Presenter: Joyce He; U. of California, Los Angeles * Presenter: Celia Moore; Imperial College Business School [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]