Schadenfreude in Working Women of Lahore: A Phenomenological Study

Abstract

Human beings have been gifted with a diverse and wonderful set of emotions. They have the ability to not only experience their own feelings, but also empathize with the emotions of others, such as being happy for someone who has conceived. Unfortunately, humans are not always moral or kind. Some people truly take pleasure in others' misery, as opposed to feeling compassion for them. Schadenfreude is defined as a feeling of satisfaction, pleasure or happiness brought on by witnessing another person's sorrow or misfortune. The present study aimed to explore the lived experiences and coping strategies of schadenfreude in working women. The sample consisted of six female faculty members which were recruited through purposive sampling. Phenomenological research design was used in this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six faculty members. The data was analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Two sets of themes emerged from data analysis. First set of themes was related to the lived experiences of schadenfreude. The superordinate themes included social factors, personality traits, biology and upbringing, psychological indicators and organizational influences. The other set of themes was regarding the coping strategies employed by faculty to overcome schadenfreude. The superordinate themes consisted of short-te­­rm and long-term coping strategies. The findings have long-term implications it will advance our knowledge of negative emotions and the effects of interpersonal conflict on job satisfaction, stress levels, and workers' general wellbeing and therefore help to promote teamwork and long-term prosperity for the organization.