Working in professional sport is often portrayed as a dream job, but passion can also create expectations of sacrifice. Our research with employees from the NBA, NHL, NFL and MLB found something unexpected – stronger team identification was actually associated with greater affective commitment and life satisfaction, alongside lower work-family conflict and burnout. The findings suggest fandom can operate as a psychological resource rather than a workplace liability. For leaders, the challenge is to cultivate employees’ connection to the team while ensuring that passion is supported, not exploited through excessive demands or assumptions that commitment should come at a personal cost.
This work was the result of my ongoing research with Aubrey Kent, in collaboration with the Temple Sport Industry Research Center and Deakin Sport Business Lab.
Full article: Can Fandom Harm Sport Employee Wellbeing?
Dr Steve Swanson 