Embitterment and the workplace

Abstract

The workplace is an area in life where people spend much, if not most, of their time. It is important in terms of making a living, but also for the self-definition of individuals. It is characterized by rules that must be respected and requirements that must be fulfilled and by the fact that employees have to integrate within complex social relations. While the workplace provides many rewards and positive experiences, it can also be the source of severe burdens, disappointments, conflicts, or even life-threatening experiences. Workplaces evince certain features which are unavoidably associated with stress, features which are also universal and almost constituting characteristics of workplaces as such. Examples of these are desires to achieve, hierarchies and sanctions, rivalries and bullying, group interactions and conflicts, aggression on the part of customers or other third parties, job insecurity and economic or status problems. © 2011 Springer-Verlag Vienna.