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Affiliation(s)

Hellenic Open University, Patras, Greece

ABSTRACT

This article presents a ground theory to explain why some individuals choose to be unhappy rather than happy, supported by empirical data collected from a sample of 750 professionals in Greece’s public and private sectors. We begin by reviewing the existing literature on happiness and well-being, highlighting the debate between hedonic and eudaimonic perspectives. We then introduce our research questions and rationale, and describe our methods, sample, and psychometric tools used to measure happiness and other variables of interest. Our results indicate that various factors, including cultural influences, past experiences, and personal values, contribute to individuals’ pursuit of unhappiness. We conclude with a thorough discussion of our results and their implications for future research and interventions aimed at promoting well-being.

KEYWORDS

unhappiness, happiness, ground theory, empirical data, public sector, private sector, Greece, X2 Models, R squared

Cite this paper

Psychology Research, February 2023, Vol. 13, No. 2, 51-59

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