Unhappiness and Social Stress at Work: South American Research on Workplace Bullying and Harassment

Positive social relations at work are important, even to the degree that they may create happiness at work and in life in general. Yet, if we are interested in knowledge on how to secure and maintain happiness in the adult population, it is essential to identify and understand what causes us to be unhappy, including conditions that may generate mental health problems. A long line of research has documented that mental health problems are related to conditions at work, and in particular to exposure to severe social stressors, for example in the form of violence, bullying, harassment, or destructive forms of leadership. These social stressors are related to a range of mental and psychosomatic health problems, including burnout, anxiety, depression, sleep problems as well as diabetes, heart problems, and PTSD. However, much of this research has been carried out in developed countries, in particular on European, North American, and Australian samples, with far fewer data and publications from Latin America and other non-western cultures.  In the following, we will present and review South American research on workplace bullying and harassment, destructive leadership, and violence at work.