Abstract

Suffering is an articulator of subjectivity and mental health at work. Its investigation allows understanding the affective experiences and the variety of resources that workers build to keep operating in demanding and harsh work environments. This study aims to analyze and understand the suffering experiences of Chilean copper miners and dock workers, focusing on defensive resources and their implications in subjectivity and occupational mental health. We conducted twenty-six semi-structured interviews and used thematic analysis to analyze the data collected, identifying three themes linked to subjective experiences of occupational suffering as results: reaffirmation of virility, degradation of subjectivity; time spill and home/work strangeness and observing, in addition, failures in defenses and deterioration of mental health. As a projection, this study highlights the importance of continuing to investigate this affective experience in demanding and masculinized industries in Chile, which would allow us to have more evidence to develop intervention and prevention strategies in the workplace, considering the role of gender in this articulation.