The subject of passion enters a lot of discussions at Microsoft. You hear this in the form of encouragement about your career. Do something you're passionate about and you'll never work a day in your life. To writers: Find what you're passionate about and write about it.
I find all this somewhat odd.
Imagine you were a lexicographer - a dictionary writer. Do you think it would be okay to only write about the words you were passionate about? Or maybe you'd just do a good job on the words you are passionate about? It seems like it is a professionals job to write fine dictionary definitions about all words, even set and plus. Should we neglect prepositions? or wait 'til we find a passionate preposition lexicographer? Something tells me that might not be cost effective. Perhaps we'd just expect a competent professional to do a good job with all words.
To be honest, I feel for the words and documents about subjects that don't inspire passion in a writer. I feel compassion for the poor subjects that are and will always be ordinary. Some will be useful and some will be mostly ignored.
In fact, I might suggest to the aspiring writer that she or he find the most boring, mundane thing and try writing about that. If I were a business ower, I think I would pay good money for that.
Minor grammar revisions after initial post - yikes.
I suspect that being passionate about work, for any job, is a genetic thang.
That said though, if I'm interviewing a writer for a computer company, I'll ask what kind of computer they have a home. I've found, believe it or not, writers with no computer or one that doesn't work anymore. That's sets off red flags for me.
And although I luv my job, there are aspects of it that totally turn me off. TPS reports exist in every job I've had. And rarely do I get the coveted red stapler.
With a business hat on, I agree with your hire the bland writer point. Makes total sense.
From the edumacation field, I'd have to say that if I didn't have a certain passion for what I do I would definitely NOT keep doing it. It is tooooo depleting. Like parenting would be if you didn't love your kids.
There might be jobs, like teaching, where passion equals results. My point is that if you are getting results then passion is a bonus.
But I was a teacher a long time ago and I still found that passion wasn't the thing that got me through the day. It was pushing through the hard unfun parts of the day that provided the ultimate pay-off. Perseverance is more the point there.
But I didn't teach for long and maybe that's why. I guess I would pose the question this way, can you imagine a passionate but ineffective teacher? I can. Would they be good for students? No.