As I contemplated anger management in the workplace, I stumbled across a post shared last year about Anna and Paul, co-workers in an organisation. Anna, 22, joined the company for her first post-grad job in January and encountered Paul, 60, who has angry outbursts almost every day she is in the office.
“Usually, it is not directed toward me, but it makes me very uncomfortable as I have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Paul will start yelling and banging on the table, and even when the outward anger is over, he will still be visibly angry and seething. It has affected me deeply to the point where I am afraid to go to work. (I work from home 2/5 days a week, and I dread the three days I go in person because of Paul's outbursts),” she revealed.
She added that Paul's behaviour is tolerated in their workplace because he has been with the company for a long time. “He will even show these outbursts of anger toward our supervisor, but they have known each other for a long time, and he seems to be okay with it and is able to just brush it off. Other coworkers just seem to go, 'ahh, that’s Paul for you.’ Some are even able to laugh it off.”
Anger, defined in the English dictionary as 'a strong feeling that makes you want to hurt someone or be unpleasant because of something unfair or unkind that has happened,’ often manifests in the workplace due to the different personalities and temperaments of staff.
Though it can emanate from a wide range of issues, even those outside the workplace scope, Allan Maonga, the head of people, culture, and diversity at Next Step Foundation, says the culture of an organisation plays a vital role in encouraging or discouraging anger.
“Do you tolerate an environment where line managers or employees can throw abuses right, left and centre without repercussions, or are there consequences for such actions? Do you have a formal channel where those aggrieved can share their complaints in confidentiality and confidence?” he asked.
Ramifications
While it is prudent to stay true to your beliefs and values in the face of an anger outburst from a line manager or superior, Mr Maonga shares that maintaining calmness is key to promoting rational thinking.
However, the effects of dealing with such bosses are grievous, not only to the mental health of the employee but also to the company at large. “For instance, the performance of the said employee begins to dwindle because they are always uncertain of the reaction of their boss,” he explains.
Furthermore, employees may struggle with decision-making in the workplace due to uncertainty about how their superiors will perceive their choices.
“The rate of absenteeism goes up. Employees will tend to skip work as often as possible to avoid dealing with their bosses’ temperaments.”
In the event that anger flare-ups are between employees, Mr Maonga shares that team morale and cohesion go down. The most common ripple effect of untamed anger among employees is employees tendering their resignation letters. They say 'it is never that serious’.
As a result, the profitability of the organisation is affected, and they lose their branding rights, especially if their reputation is tarnished over social media.
Extreme cases
In the case of extreme anger leading to incidents like verbal outbursts or physical confrontations, Rebecca Kimau, a human resource and administration manager at Irrico International Limited, says that HR needs to inquire from the employee who has anger issues why they reacted as they did.
“You might find that the actions were the result of issues outside work that are taking a toll on them,” she adds.
To ensure fairness and promote resolution, Ms Kimau recommends arranging a meeting with the concerned employees to hear from both parties.
From her experience, Ms Kimau shares that sometimes you find that the employee who has an outburst is projecting their anger because the colleague is not contributing to the work, but he/she is being favoured by the boss.
“This shows a deeper issue that needs to be addressed from the root in confidentiality.”
However, if the anger flare-ups are not justifiable, Ms Kimau advises that the employee should be given a verbal warning and, if the incidence repeats, issue the first warning letter. Also, make them apologise for being insensitive.
