Do your work mates fly off the handle, lose their cool, or regularly trade insults with each other?
Do they throw things at each other, or do they abuse and attack their innocent computers?
Don’t laugh. If this “workplace banter” is becoming more noticeable, you might be sitting on time-bomb, new workplace phenomenon that’s being labelled “desk rage”.
That’s the conclusion of US study by Integra Realty Resources, which found an increasing incidence of this behaviour.
As part of their study, 48 percent of respondents said desk rage was increasing in their company. One in 10 reported an environment where physical violence had taken place, and 14 percent worked where equipment had been damaged by angry workers.
The reasons vary:
? Integra Realty believes limited physical space in the workplace is the culprit and warns of the dangers of pushing people into small, doorless, windowless, identical cubicles, where they can’t even make personal phone call in private.
? Others point to the lifestyle rages – road rage, air rage, whatever the rage, they’re are all symptoms of too many commitments and too little time, in too little space.
Rage for success
So, just when you’re convinced you should control your anger at work, yet another study by Stanford professor, Larissa Tidens, reports that anger at work can be good for your career.
“When people express anger, they appear more dominant and strong,” she explains. “And when people see someone express anger, they think that person is lot smarter than someone who appears sad, and confer on them higher status,” explains the professor.
Those who express their feelings in terms of anger are apparently more respected and likely to get better promotions and pay than office sad sacks.
The professor rationalises it as “when we express anger, we’re saying ?I’m right and someone else is wrong’… and we want to confer status on those who are right.”
Well then, how should we read these mixed messages?
Undoubtedly, few would condone anger as strategy for career success, the mind boggles at where this might lead to. new management niche on – how to berate your staff and get to the top?
It’s enough to make you really angry!
