Passion, Technology, and the Blurred Boundaries of Work and Life: Evidence From Indian Hotel Employees

In the post-pandemic world, organizations increasingly recognize the need to support work–life balance while fostering passionate employees. Yet not all work passion is beneficial. Drawing on Conservation of Resources theory (COR) and the Job Demands–Resources model (JD–R), this study examines how obsessive work passion (OWP) can negatively affect life satisfaction (LS), through work-to-life conflict (WLC), and how Information and Communication Technology (ICT) use at home shapes these dynamics. Data were collected in multiple phases from 454 full-time hotel employees in India. Structural equation modelling (SEM) tested the hypothesized model. To make sense of unexpected non-significant paths (OWP → LS and ICT → LS), a post hoc qualitative analysis was conducted with 28 participants from the original sample. WLC fully mediates the OWP–LS link, and ICT use strengthens the OWP–WLC relationship. Qualitative insights show that obsessive passion can be both draining and sustaining a “defensive passion,” offering pride, stability, and belonging amid uncertainty. ICT use can be experienced as intrusion but also reframed as professionalism and moral duty ( seva ). Collective norms and joint-family support further buffer strain, explaining why some direct paths were non-significant. This study uniquely combines SEM with post hoc qualitative exploration, revealing the nuanced, culturally grounded ways obsessive passion and ICT use shape work–life balance. It shows that what seems stressful can also function as a resource in collectivist and morally framed work settings.