11 Ways for Managers to Address Anger in the Workplace

Management plays a major role in influencing the tone in their work setting. This is especially meaningful with regard to recognizing, preventing, and managing anger in the workplace. As such, all supervisors can benefit from developing understanding, awareness, and skills for effectively dealing with such anger. This is as true for experienced supervisors as it is for employees newly promoted to a managerial position. And, it is as true for the corporate office as it is in a school system, medical center, or factory. Understanding begins with learning some key facts about anger.

About anger

1. Anger is almost always a reaction to (and a distraction from) negative emotions such as fear, shame, embarrassment, or hurt associated with rejection, being devalued, or feeling inadequate.
2. It involves a mind-body reaction that may activate the “threat system,” leading potentially to fight, flight, freeze, or compassion. This mind-body reaction encompasses the interplay of emotions, thoughts, and physical sensation. Calming the body is an ideal first step that can lead to a pause so that we respond to, rather than react to, anger.
3. Regulating our body and thoughts helps us gain the awareness to pause and direct our attention inward in order to better identify emotions, thoughts and sensations leading to anger.
4. Much of anger is about maintaining expectations–with and without awareness. We may hold onto them too rigidly, have difficulty letting them go, or form them based on wishes and hopes rather than reality.
5. There is a difference between anger and aggression, one being the emotion, the other being a verbal or physical behavior driven by the emotion.

Guidelines regarding workplace anger

1. Workplace tone is not only influenced by what you say about conflict and anger, but also by what you model for others. As such, it is incumbent for managers to develop a repertoire of skills in anger management in addition to being sensitive to the anger of others.
2. Learning about and practicing assertive communication offers modeling, which is neither passive nor aggressive. It is direct without being threatening. It might be expressed in “I statements” such as “I expect you to complete the report by Friday” rather than “you have to complete the report by Friday” or “you need to complete the report by Friday.”
3. Most conflicts and anger in the workplace arise from experiences of being, or feeling, treated unfairly–especially when expectations or sudden changes in expectations are not clearly communicated. Clearly stated and written expectations regarding work performance, compensation, and benefits help reduce the potential for misunderstandings, second-guessing, and potential grievances by employees.
4. As such, be aware of unrealistic expectations you may maintain regarding your supervisees. For example, remember that impaired performance may be related to a lack of clear understanding, a lack of skills, or the temporary influence of personal factors, whether related to factors at work or home. The latter might include stress related to family, health, or finances. By remaining aware of these potential contributions to productivity, you will become more cautious in simply concluding that such performance is due to “laziness” or a lack of motivation.
5. Provide feedback that is clear, specific to the task and focused on how productivity is being impacted. Any language that is “globally critical” such as “you’re always doing that” or “you never listen” will often be heard for its tone and not the content. This is especially true for the employee who already thinks globally—in terms of “black or white” or “all-or-nothing” terms. Additionally, it may also have a more negative impact for an individual who already feels inadequate.
6. Be aware of how your personal history regarding anger will impact how you react to your own anger as well as that of supervisees. This may entail a predisposition for anger arousal, leading to your own sensitivity to it. You may subsequently respond by overlooking it when you shouldn’t or by becoming angry or even minimizing it—which may only lead it to escalate. If you have personal history regarding a tendency for anger arousal, be aware of your personalizing an employee’s behavior when they do not follow through with satisfying your expectation.
7. Address expressions of anger by supervisees with firm limit-setting and or consequences rather than by ignoring it for fear of escalating a conflict. It is one thing to allow open and candid discussion about a concern and another to allow inappropriate expressions of anger regarding an issue. Clearly stating and enacting such consequences should be a first response rather than becoming angry.
8. While being angry with a supervisee may seem to feel good and even work in the short term, it eventually leads to reduced work satisfaction, productivity, team cohesiveness and retention. Be aware of the power differential and how that may be perceived by your supervisees if they feel it unjustly being exerted.
9. Recognize that anger can be verbal or physical and noticeably aggressive or it could be, passive-aggressive. Passive-aggressive anger might be reflected by low-level sabotage or more serious undermining of progress. For example, it may involve stealing supplies or withholding important information from colleagues or supervisors.
10. Provide feedback frequently rather than just waiting for designated dates for evaluation. Emphasize strengths while also identifying what may need improvement. Don’t treat evaluations as just a formality. It is an opportunity for clarification of expectations.
11. Praise liberally. Whether or not we admit it, we all like to be praised. Unfortunately, we tend to have a negativity bias and all too often focus on what did not go right. Praise is a counterweight to this tendency and encourages savoring the moment and allowing positivity to be experienced. And again, such praise should be clearly expressed and specific.

While managers influence the overall emotional tone of the workplace, it is especially important for them to address anger. Recognizing this fact, it is incumbent upon managers to gain understanding, awareness and skill in preventing and constructively managing anger. This calls for a conscious commitment to be sensitive to this issue. Doing so highlights a concern for humanity as well as positively influences the bottom line.