Should I stay or should I go? A pre-registered test of the bright and dark sides of calling across Italy and Japan

Research on career calling has highlighted its many positive outcomes. Yet, approaching work as a calling can sometimes lead to increased workaholism and organisational exploitation. This study seeks to identify the situations in which calling has negative outcomes and investigates whether the proposed theoretical model on the “dark side” of calling is invariant across one western (Italy, N = 245) and one eastern (Japan, N = 151) culture. In a cross-sectional study, we found initial support for the model and interesting cross-cultural variations. In exploitative working conditions, Italian workers with a high calling were more likely to consider leaving their organisations, whereas Japanese workers with a high calling were less likely to consider leaving. These results provide initial evidence on the conditions in which calling can be dangerous, highlighting the importance of considering cultural norms and values to predict whether calling could be harmful or beneficial for the individuals.