Addressing the Anger Epidemic
Strategies and Tools for Navigating Workplace Emotions in the Post-Pandemic Era
In the wake of the pandemic, a new challenge has risen to the surface of the workplace: an epidemic of anger. It’s not surprising. As organizations and employees grapple with the aftermath of collective stress and trauma, change, and uncertainty, feelings of frustration, resentment, and outrage have become increasingly common. Much like the transition to becoming a working parent, the pandemic has forced us to reevaluate our strategies for navigating work and life. The old playbook no longer applies, and we’re (understandably) pissed off about it.
The Toxic Impact of Anger
Left unchecked, workplace anger can have a toxic impact on individuals, teams, and entire organizations. It can lead to decreased productivity, increased conflict, and a breakdown in communication and collaboration. As comedian Chris Rock once joked, "Every woman's got another woman at her job that she can't stand. It tends to get dramatic. 'She's trying to destroy me!' What are you talking about? You wrap up bags at J.C. Penney's! What's she doing, ripping up your paper?" While the joke is more than a bit misogynistic, it highlights the absurdity of allowing minor problems to escalate into full-blown hatred and intolerable dynamics.
While we have become used to experiencing the daily outrage at a colleague who is trying to “destroy us,’ living in that anger is harmful. NIH researchers have found that even brief bouts of anger can impair the ability of blood vessels to expand and contract, which might have consequences for heart health. Think about what could happen to your body and our collective wellbeing by letting that anger fester for days or weeks or even years at a time.
A Mind-Body Approach to Anger
To effectively address anger at work, we need to stop looking at it as something we can simply think away. It’s easy to pretend as through private chatting your colleague during a team zoom is your best way to get the aggravation out of your system. But, as Thich Nhat Hanh says, Anger not strictly a psychological phenomenon. Anger, he says, is a mind-body formation that requires a holistic approach. In other words, you feel the physiological impacts of anger just as much as the emotional or intellectual ones. The first step is to acknowledge the physical experience of anger. What does it feel like in your body? Are you literally and figuratively fuming? Do you feel tension in your back or shoulders? Then name the anger from a calm, centered place. Be active about addressing anger using (some variation of) these three simple sentences.
1. I am angry. Let your colleague know you’re having a difficult reaction to something that involves them.
2. I am doing my best. Show that you are coming from a sincere place with good intentions.
3. Please help me. Let the colleague know you want to find a collaborative solution that works for you and for them.
By expressing anger in this way, we create space for understanding and collaboration, rather than blame and recrimination.
As a consultant and coach focusing on the people side of the workplace, I tend to be called in when blame and recrimination are unmistakable and pretty well established. Here are just three examples of workplace anger that stand out to me.
In a climate survey for one team, a employee wrote about that an incident involving a colleague’s burnt toast in the breakroom was still infuriating her months later.
In a data gathering interview for an organizational assessment, one team member voiced her disdain for organizational restructuring that occurred eight years prior. Things were better the way they were then, she insisted.
In interviews preparing for senior team coaching session, an executive who referred to their meetings as "Chernobyl recurrences.”
While these examples may seem disparate, they all point to the same underlying problem: a failure to effectively manage and communicate about change, stress, and conflict in the workplace.
Strategies for Managing Anger
When anger arises at work, we tend to bury it and or let it fester. Try these five strategies instead to manage it effectively:
Acknowledge the Anger. Recognize the anger that you’re feeling. Don’t push it away. Expressing anger within 24 hours or some limited time, in a careful and intentional way, can prevent it from festering and escalating. We tend to think of anger as bad emotions to be thrown away. Instead think about other ways to use it. How could it be used for positive change?
Take A Breath. Taking a moment to focus on the breath can help calm the mind and body.
Take a Walk. Stepping away from the situation for a short walk can provide perspective and clarity. Nature is a proven antidote to anger.
Explore the Anger: By looking deeply into the nature of our perceptions, we can begin to understand the root causes of our anger. Using tools like the Ladder of Inference, we can examine our assumptions and beliefs about the situation.
Practice Compassion for Others: Remembering that everyone is facing their own struggles can help us approach conflicts with empathy and understanding.
The Power of Communication
Ultimately, the key to managing workplace anger is open, honest, and compassionate communication. When we express a willingness to examine and confront our own anger, others are more likely to listen with patience and understanding. By focusing on desired outcomes, careful expression, active listening, and mutual understanding, we can transform conflicts into opportunities for growth and collaboration.
The Pitfalls of Venting
Not all strategies for managing anger work that well. Venting to a colleague or friend may provide temporary relief, it can actually reinforce negative emotions and perpetuate conflicts. Similarly, physically releasing anger through actions like punching a pillow may feel cathartic in the moment, but it can serve to rehearse and strengthen angry responses in the long run.
Certainly! Here's an expanded conclusion that incorporates a stronger call to action and emphasizes the importance of individual responsibility in creating positive change:
A Call to Action
As we navigate the post-pandemic workplace, it's clear that the challenge of anger has reached a boiling point. We can no longer afford to ignore its toxic impact on our well-being, productivity, and collective success. By recognizing the dangers of unchecked anger, adopting a holistic approach to managing it, and fostering a culture of open and compassionate communication, we have the power to transform our workplaces for the better.
However, this transformation cannot happen without the active participation and commitment of every one of us. Time for each of us to take responsibility for our own emotions, reactions, and behaviors, and make a conscious effort to cultivate mindfulness, empathy, and resilience in the face of stress and conflict.
This is not an easy task, but it is not a nice to have either. Not every conflict will be addressable quite this simply, but applying these principles when we can can take us a long way. It isn’t just about those who have reached a breaking point. By doing the inner work of managing our own anger, we can create a ripple effect that extends far beyond ourselves. We inspire others to do the same, leading by example and demonstrating the power of emotional intelligence and compassionate leadership.
By addressing the root causes of workplace anger – such as mismanaged change, chronic stress, and ineffective communication – we can create more supportive, adaptable, and fulfilling work environments for everyone. This requires a willingness to have difficult conversations, challenge the status quo, and collaborate across differences to find solutions that work for all.
Ultimately, the choice is ours. We can continue to let anger consume us, eroding our health, happiness, and success in the process. Or we can choose to transform it into a force for positive change, harnessing its energy to fuel creativity, innovation, and growth.
As the saying goes, "Peace begins with you." Let’s each take that first step, channeling the power within us to create a brighter, more compassionate future for ourselves, our colleagues, and our organizations. Together, we can build workplaces that not only survive the challenges of the post-pandemic era but thrive in the face of them, setting a new standard for what is possible when we lead with empathy, resilience, and grace.