Office Anger

Dealing with Office Anger

If office anger is getting in the way of productivity and general office happiness, then you may want to start thinking of some ways you might change this dynamic.  Office anger can make for an uncomfortable work environment, creating difficulties with communication and employee retention.  Therefore, if you are prone to fits of rage at work, here are some tips for helping you avoid outbursts that might cost you your job, if you are a manager, and your workers, if you are a boss.

  1. Deal with problems as soon as possible.  One of the worst things to do if you are prone to angry fits is to let things go when you notice things.  The more you try to take it easy and avoid mentioning something that is bothering, the more likely your anger is to build and build.  If you put off dealing with problems, when they finally do come out, they are libel to explode, like a pot boiling over.
  2. Sleep on it!  This may seem to contradict the first tip, but actually, we are dealing with two different situations.  You should indeed address things that are bothering not long after you notice them; however, you need to do so when you are not in a state of anger.  If you notice that you are furious or heading there, rather than get on the phone or head down to the offender’s office, have a general rule where you go home and sleep on it.  Then, before you go chew out your employee, try first to get clarification as to why they did what they did, before you reprimand them.  Ideally, you don’t want to go into the confrontation, angry already.
  3. Learn to Recognize your Triggers.  If you have anger issues, you might notice there are certain conditions that create the perfect environment for your office anger episodes.  Perhaps you tend to explode during the pressure to make quota at the end of the month; or perhaps the pressure really gets to you when multiple employees come in to ask you questions at the same time.  The first thing you want to do is identify the patterns that most often lead you to fly off the handle.  Figuring these out can really help you start to get outside of your anger so that you control it and it doesn’t control you.
  4. Break the Pattern of Triggers.  Once you’ve identified your pattern of triggers, you can now recognize them and have ways of avoiding these triggers. For example, let’s say that having multiple employees come into your office at the same time is what sets you off.  Create an e-mail policy.  Employees have to e-mail you first before they come over to your office unless it is an extreme emergency (be very clear that by “emergency” you really mean emergency and not just the run of the mill urgent problem).
  5. Learn Relaxation Techniques.  You may also find it useful to learn certain relaxation techniques to keep you from blowing up.  When you feel your anger rising, go back to your office and run through your relaxation techniques. 
  6. Apologize.  When you do blow up, as it is inevitable you will, then you should apologize for having lost your cool.  This may be difficult to do, but it will improve your relationships in the workplace and the overall environment, because your fellow workers will appreciate that you are conscious of your anger and how it effects them.
  7. Get Professional Help: If anger issues have long been a difficulty, then you may want to go to a psychologist who can perhaps help you understand the root of your anger and teach you techniques for dealing with your anger in a more positive manner.

With these techniques, you should be able avoid office anger and to improve the environment at your work, improving the productivity and the general atmosphere at your work.