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Making
your co-workers angry could
come back to haunt you. A new study shows anger at the workplace is
widespread but so is revenge.
Researchers
found people get most
angry about immoral behavior at work, such as cheating, lying, or
stealing, and when they are treated unjustly with too much work or
excessive criticism.
But
the study also showed that making
colleagues angry may also have negative consequences for the offender.
The most common reaction to irritating behavior was to dole out some
form of unofficial punishment, such as gossiping and telling lies about
the offender or giving them undesirable jobs.
Anger in the
Workplace
The results of the
study were
presented this week at the British Psychological Society's Division of
Occupational Psychology Annual Conference in Stratford-upon-Avon,
England.
Researchers
interviewed 24 men and
women in both management and non-management positions in a variety of
workplaces to determine what made them mad at work and what they did
about it.
In addition to
immoral behavior and
unjust treatment, the study showed other common causes of anger at the
workplace include:
- Others' job incompetence
- People being disrespectful,
such as rudeness or
arrogance
- Failure to communicate
- Exclusion of others
Researchers also
found that prolonged
exposure to anger at work can lead to people considering leaving their
jobs and allowing the anger to affect their home life.
Those findings
suggest that anger at
work may have long as well as short-term consequences for both the
individual as well as their place of employment. Therefore, researchers
say taking steps to identify causes of anger in the workplace and
reduce it may be worthwhile for all concerned.
SOURCES: British
Psychological Society's Division of Occupational Psychology Annual
Conference, Stratford-upon-Avon, England, Jan. 7-9, 2004. News release,
The British Psychological Society.
MSN Health
Jennifer Warner
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