Fri, January 29, 2010 - 9:57:52

The Dangers of Desk Rage

We’ve all heard the term, “road rage,” used to describe the uncontrollable feelings of anger expressed by many drivers suffering in traffic on some of the nation’s most congested highways, but have you ever heard of “desk rage?”

Chances are, whether you knew the name for it or not, you’ve experienced this all-too-common emotion at one time or another during your professional life and in a new Wall Street Journal piece this week, Sue Shellenbarger examines two very different viewpoints regarding expressing anger at work. 

While many career counselors would advise that it’s best to eschew confrontation and keep your thoughts to yourself in order to avoid damaging your future career prospects, recent medical findings published by Swedish researchers in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health say that quashing your feelings could have serious consequences when it comes to your physical well-being.  In fact, their study of 2,755 subjects with no prior history of heart problems found that participants who regularly used “covert coping”, or stifled their emotions at work, were at a far greater risk of having a heart attack or dying from heart disease.

But, no matter what the health risks may be, there is certainly no benefit to erupting into fits of rage directed at your coworkers and employees, yet there is no incentive to being a doormat either.  Fortunately, there’s a NICE solution that can help you keep your career and your health on the right track and it’s easier than you might think. 

The key is to recognize your feelings of anger when they first emerge and to redirect your energy before you go on a regrettable rampage. Then, instead of allowing yourself to become consumed by your emotions, step back and use a distractive technique that involves rational thinking, such as saying the alphabet backwards, listing all fifty state capitals, or remembering the names of all of your elementary school teachers.  As odd as it may sound, doing so will not only allow you to “cool off,” it will give your logical side the time it needs to catch up to your more quickly-triggered emotional brain.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you should not address the situation that angered you later on, but giving yourself the time you need to think critically will help you to approach the other party in a calm-and-effective, rather than confrontational-and-destructive manner. 

After you’ve composed yourself and you decide that the situation warrants a conversation, make every effort to channel your inner Joe Friday and stick to “just the facts”, rather than making personal accusations or bringing up old arguments.  After all, the purpose of your talk is to heal and move on, rather than hurt and rehash.

So, forget about “desk rage” and the next time you find yourself in an office tiff, step back, put those claws away, and be NICE.  Once you’ve had the opportunity to air your grievances in an appropriate and professional way, you’ll find you not only feel better, you’ll be a better coworker as well. 

Posted by Linda and Robin