This practice of passion exploitation is particularly
This practice of passion-exploitation is particularly prominent in creative industries; a 2019 survey showed most creative jobs in the UK – such as journalist, fashion stylist, musician and game designer – fell below the annual average salary. Unpaid labour is common: according to one 2020 survey of UK creative workers, 47% of under-30s said they had done an unpaid internship to secure their dream job. In the same study, 60% of under-30s said they hadn’t been paid for all the hours they’d worked in the past month. One 2019 study goes some way to explaining why this happens; the research found that people viewed treating workers poorly – such as asking employees to perform additional tasks or work more hours without pay – as more legitimate when workers were presumed to be passionate about their work.