“Calling-oriented employees?” What the fuck? We do research on this?

I think we generally know that business journalism is trash, and thought leadership can be cringe-inducing, but I came across some new stuff today on “calling-oriented employees” — passionate, purposeful! — and “job-oriented employees,” who basically hit tasks. Here’s a summary:

But in our recent research, Yuna Cho of the University of Hong Kong and I found evidence that calling-oriented employees nevertheless do actually tend to achieve higher pay and organizational status. So if they’re not necessarily doing a better job, why are these professionals more successful? Our research indicated that it’s because managers tend to be biased toward those with a calling orientation.

That has critical implications for managers, who need to check themselves for this bias. Ignoring it could result in lower employee morale (as job-oriented team members see a calling-oriented colleague receiving preferential treatment), the promotion of underqualified candidates, and the encouragement of inauthentic displays of passion for the job. It also suggests that professionals themselves need to adjust their view of having a sense of calling or passion for work as a requisite for success — despite all the attention being paid to professional purpose and passion these days.