In any workplace environment, something or the other is bound to make you feel angry. It's a human emotion, and a healthy one at that, because it can highlight the problems and get you moving towards positive changes. Whether it's some sort of unprofessional behavior from a coworker, an unreasonable request from a boss, or anything else, you'll end up getting frustrated. As normal as anger may be, it's important to know how to manage anger effectively. You cannot allow anger to disrupt productivity, damage your relationships, or lead to the creation of a toxic work environment.

It's vital to develop strategies to stay calm and professional in the workplace if you intend to maintain your career path, no matter how difficult the situation. In this article, we will explore every aspect of anger in the workplace- From its causes and consequences, to coping methods and resolutions. For any individual who works in a social environment, this is one of the core skills that you cannot afford to lack. Your ability to deal with anger, whether it's your own or someone else's, will be essential to your career's success as well as your well-being.

Internal Causes of Anger in the Workplace

Anger doesn't just pop out of nowhere, even if it seems like it did. It always has a source. The first step in managing workplace anger is to figure out its causes and triggers. Since we're exploring anger in the workplace, we'll divide the causes into factors in the workplace that trigger anger, and external pressures.

Common Triggers

The most common cause of anger in the workplace is often within the workplace itself. Usually, it stems from a lack of understanding, poor workplace communication, credit not being given where it's due, and so on:

• Miscommunication: Poor communication leads to difficult situations. It could be inconsistent messaging or unclear instructions, but the end result is both parties being dissatisfied. The boss wouldn't have gotten their task accomplished the way they wanted it done, and the team working on the project would be reprimanded for something that wasn't their fault, and end up having to potentially redo the task. It's not surprising to see that the workers will feel angry.
• Unrealistic Deadlines: Everyone has had that one project manager who would set deadlines that were completely unattainable, and expect you to work day and night to make it happen. Having to constantly deal with tight deadlines and unrealistic expectations, as well as the repercussions of being unable to meet these unrealistic deadlines, can cause you to become angry, and reasonably so. You'll feel overwhelmed and resentful, which impacts your productivity and your morale.
• Interpersonal Conflict: It's common to experience conflict between coworkers, supervisors, or subordinates. It could be a difference in personality, disagreements on how to approach a task, unresolved interpersonal issues, or even things like getting your lunch stolen. Workplace bullying is as common as bullying in schools, and the lack of respect and unfair treatment can cause anyone to deal with anger issues.
• Lack of Recognition: Working hard on a particularly difficult project, only to have the credit stolen by a coworker or a boss is all too common. Some corporate environments can be highly competitive, where everyone's doing whatever they can to get ahead of the rat race, no matter how unethical. Putting in all that effort only to not be recognized for it would make anyone's blood boil.
• Customers: If you work in a field that's client-facing, whether it's retail, service, or anything else, you've had your fair share of customers who go above and beyond to ruin your day. Many of these customers show a lack of empathy and understanding, and will take their frustrations out on you. Understandably, this will make you feel angry, and more often than not you have to bottle it up because you cannot show your anger to the customer.

External Pressures

Aside from triggers in the workplace, you may have stressors in your home life that you're bottling up. This can often leak out in other places, like the workplace. Ignoring the following issues can impact how good your ability to manage anger is or even cause you to experience flare-ups of anger at the workplace:

• Financial Stress: If you've got medical bills, student loan debt, or any other kind of obligation that creates financial strain, you may experience significant levels of stress and anxiety. This may contribute to irritability and anger in the workplace in some cases. Constantly facing worry and pressure from these financial issues can reduce your ability to cope with anger effectively, which makes you more prone to outbursts in the workplace.
• Personal Relationships: By having a partner or being involved with family, you're bound to experience challenges in your relationships with them. These personal struggles can eat away at your peace and cause you stress, which can make you less tolerant in other aspects of life, like at the workplace. You may find yourself lashing out at work for minor issues when the reality is that the stress of your personal relationships is seeping into how you handle workplace problems.
• Health Issues: Having physical and mental health concerns can cause you to experience more stress and emotional instability. Dealing with the chronic pain that comes with some physical health issues, as well as anxiety and emotional polarity that comes with mental health problems may affect your ability and motivation to meet work demands.
• Poor Work-Life Balance: When you feel like you're living just to work, you may experience burnout. If you're living a life where you wake up, go to work, and then go straight to bed by the time you're home because you're too exhausted to do anything else, you've got a poor work-life balance. People who have a good work-life balance report greater satisfaction with their lives, as well as a greater handle on their emotions in the workplace. If you're unable to take the time to wind down and relax after work, you'll eventually take it out on your coworkers.

The Consequences of Unchecked Anger at Work

Even a singular outburst of anger can become the subject of workplace gossip. Chronic anger outbursts, however, will lead to consequences both subtle and drastic. Being perceived as someone with uncontrollable emotions will affect how people see you and your mental health will be impacted. Let's explore how:

The Effects of Uncontrolled Anger in the Workplace

Being unable to control your anger will gradually cause damage to your workplace environment:

• Damage to reputation: If you have issues with anger often in the workplace, you'll develop a reputation for it. Your coworkers will feel uneasy working with you, making it difficult to cooperate and leading to reduced team performance.
• Contribution to toxic workplace culture: If anger is normalized in your workplace, other people may also react in the same way. This reinforces negative communication patterns and passive aggression, leading to constant conflict and hostility in the workplace.
• Decreased productivity: When you or your coworkers are upset with each other on a semi-constant basis, you'll notice you suffer from impaired concentration, poor decision-making, and reduced efficiency in general.
• Erosion of teamwork: In a workplace where outbursts of anger are commonplace, employees will always be on guard. The climate of fear and distrust fosters defensiveness, which makes it difficult for the team members to cooperate effectively. The hostile environment will also make communicating effectively a difficult task because they wouldn't want to risk setting someone off by accidentally saying the wrong thing.

Potential Risks

Over time, unchecked anger will result in severe impacts on your professional relationships and career path, and even cause health issues:

• Damaged Relationships: Your coworkers will deem you 'difficult to work' with if you deal with anger issues, causing them to always be defensive around you. This can cause you to feel isolated and will result in you finding it difficult to foster positive work relationships and reduce your ability to network effectively.
• Increased Stress-Related Health Issues: When you're dealing with chronic anger in your workplace, it's going to build up your stress. Hormones like cortisol and norepinephrine which are associated with stress will have increased levels, and over time this will contribute to a higher risk of heart disease, hypertension, digestive issues, weakened immunity, and even anxiety and depression.
• Legal Ramifications: Lashing out at coworkers in anger may result in disciplinary action or legal consequences, particularly in cases of abusive behavior. This may even affecting your ability to continue your career path with other companies.
• Job Loss: If your superiors deem you too difficult to work with, they may just terminate your employment. Anger outbursts will also put a mark on you, and your superiors may consider letting you go during layoffs, even if your performance is strong.

Recognizing the Signs of Workplace Anger

The first step to managing your anger is to understand when it's flaring up. Anger is accompanied not only by physical and emotional signs, but also by cognitive changes, and identifying them will help you prevent it from worsening and employ effective coping strategies. It's important to understand that with anger, these signs can often be a slow buildup instead of being instantaneous. Let's try and explore some of the common signs:

Physical Signs

Being angry can trigger stress hormones, which put your body in a 'Fight-or-flight' state, which is accompanied by physiological changes:

• Increased heart rate: When in a state of anger, the body releases hormones such as cortisol and epinephrine. Besides those, norepinephrine levels may also rise, heightening nervous system arousal. This, in turn, can cause an increase in blood pressure as well as a faster heart rate. Their face might seem flushed, and they will feel as though their heart is pounding.
• Rapid breathing: Individuals dealing with anger may breathe rapidly or shallowly.
• Stomach discomfort: Intense anger can cause digestive discomfort, partly due to increased stomach acid production and muscle tension.
• Muscle tension: Anger can cause a person to tense their muscles, particularly in the jaw, neck, and shoulders. This can cause them to clench their fists, grind their teeth, have a rigid posture, or have a feeling of tightness in general.
• Sweating: During moments of intense anger, people can experience increased perspiration. This can happen at the palms, forehead, and underarms.
• Trembling/shaking: When feeling anger, people may tremble or shake. This is caused by the release of the stress hormones like cortisol and epinephrine.

Emotional Signs

Aside from the physical signs, a buildup of anger in you can cause emotional and cognitive changes. The most common ones are:

• Frustration/Irritability: When angered, people tend to be easily frustrated and more irritable. They may be more likely to have an outburst, even if it's over something trivial.
• Anxiety: People who feel angry may try to suppress it and this manifests in restlessness, such as tapping their feet and fidgeting with their hands.
• Difficulty concentrating: In most cases, anger impairs concentration, but in some instances, it may serve as a short-term motivator. People may find their mind wandering, sometimes circling around what made them angry in the first place, or only work intensively for a short time, feeling drained and lost afterwards.
• Withdrawal: Some individuals may withdraw from social interactions in an attempt to cope, but this is not always an effective strategy. Though this can be a good way to remove themselves from an environment that makes them angry, people will notice it.
• Defensiveness: When angry, people may become overly defensive even against constructive criticism or suggestions.

Immediate Strategies to Stay Calm

Being able to calm yourself down no matter how upset you are is a vital skill in life, regardless of whether you're in the workplace or not. Learning to de-escalate your anger will help you prevent emotional overreactions, and calmly navigate your way out of whatever situation you're dealing with. Here are a few methods that can help you out:

• Deep breaths: Breathing exercises in general have been proven to have a calming effect, even for clinically diagnosed disorders such as anxiety. While you might not have the time to do a breathing exercise in the workplace, taking a second to take a slow, deep breath can help you relax. Specifically, inhale through your nose as deep as you can and focus on your abdomen expanding instead of just your chest. This is known as diaphragmatic breathing and will help alleviate the stress you're feeling.
• Grounding exercises: Certain grounding exercises can help you redirect your awareness to the present moment rather than being fixated on whatever angered you. This will allow you to compose yourself and respond rationally rather than emotionally. One method is the 5-4-3-2-1 method. Identify 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste. Another method is to fully focus on a physical sensation, such as the feeling of your hands on your keyboard or your feet on the floor. Even squeezing a stress ball can help.
• Taking a break: Giving yourself a short break will allow you to compose yourself and reassess the situation. You'll be able to think about whether or not the way you wanted to initially respond was justified, and what a better way to respond might be.

The one thing you'll notice in all of these strategies is that it doesn't allow you to respond to the situation immediately. You're forcing yourself to take at least a couple of seconds to calm yourself down before you react. There's immense value in this. In the heat of the moment, you may say or do things that you'll regret later. You can apologize for words said in a moment of anger, but the people around you will still remember what you said. By forcing yourself to pause before responding, you're allowing yourself to process your emotions. This allows you to then respond in a more rational and professional manner. You won't even raise your voice out of instinct, and you'll find that you're clearer and more respectful in the way that you communicate.

Long-Term Strategies for Anger Management at Work

Those immediate strategies are good for managing anger in the short term, but they won't address the problem at its root. Establishing long-term strategies to manage your anger will help sustain your emotional well-being and professional success. Let's explore what you'll need to do in order to reduce your likelihood of being angered and improve workplace communication on your part:

• Seek feedback and learn from past experiences: If you have a trusted colleague or supervisor, speaking to them for insight into your behavior and communication skills can help. By getting a different perspective on your reactions, you'll be able to reflect on your past experiences with anger and draw lessons from them for the future. You might also want to speak to close friends and family, as you may have had similar experiences with them. Try to be open to their constructive criticism and try to make changes in how you react.
• Stress management techniques: It isn't reasonable to expect that your co-workers and work environment are the sole causes of your anger issues. Stress builds up over time, and it's aggravated by issues like poor time management and prioritization. This is why it's essential to work on improving your own time management and the way you prioritize your tasks. This way, you'll be able to deal with sudden problems better because you won't be overwhelmed with your own work. In the event that you are already overwhelmed, being able to say no to additional responsibilities is an important ability. On top of all this, activities like yoga and regular physical exercise, maintaining a healthy sleep schedule and balanced diet, and relaxation techniques such as mindfulness and deep breathing exercises are the methods with scientifically proven effects on reducing stress levels.

It's also important to work on your self-awareness and emotional intelligence. Being able to understand and manage your own emotions is important, as is the ability to empathize with others and defuse conflict. Also known as 'Emotional Quotient (EQ)', this is the ability to perceive, use, understand, manage, and handle emotions. Having a high EQ overlaps with strong interpersonal skills, which is essential if you're a team leader in the workplace. You can improve your emotional intelligence skills in the following ways:

• Slow down your reactions to emotions. When you feel anger, take a second to figure out why exactly you're angry.
• Figure out your strengths and weaknesses. A key aspect of being effective in the workplace is having the humility to ask for help when you need it instead of just toughing it out.
• Though no one expects you to be a mind-reader, putting in the effort to understand what people express through nonverbal communication can go a long way. Notice when people seem hesitant even though their words suggest otherwise, and speak to them about it.
• Learn to practice effective communication. Being able to get your point across clearly without having it jumbled in between irrelevant information is a skill in and of itself. In the same manner, giving your full attention to someone else when they're speaking is important, and fosters good workplace communication skills.

Conflict Resolution in the Workplace

Regardless of how good your workplace communication skills are, conflict is bound to happen no matter what. That being said, the way you address these conflicts and resolve them will massively impact the dynamic and productivity in your workplace. Let's look at a few core tenets of effective conflict resolution:

Calm and Constructive Approach

Being able to maintain calm composure during a conflict is essential to resolving it. By taking a moment to breathe and compose yourself, you'll be able to respond rationally rather than emotionally. It's important to remember that you want to find a resolution, not just avoid blaming. Keeping this in mind, express your concerns and needs in a manner that fixates on resolving an issue rather than assigning blame. If need be, you can speak to the coworker who was at the source of the issue privately, which will save them from public embarrassment.

Active Listening

Ignoring or dismissing a colleague's concerns can lead to frustration and resentment on their side. what someone is saying outright is the easiest way to have them resent you. By genuinely focusing on what your coworker is saying, demonstrating empathy, and putting yourself in their shoes to understand their perspective, not only will you gain a better understanding of their point of view, you'll also gain their respect. Your coworker will feel heard, and in turn they'll be more open to understanding your side of things.

When your coworker speaks, make eye contact with them, nod appropriately, and don't interject until they're done speaking. Asking relevant questions is a good way to show that you're listening, and gives them the opportunity to further elaborate their point of view. To really seal the deal, summarize what they said and ask if you've understood them correctly.

Open Communication

Communicating effectively means communicating openly. If everyone in the workplace feels safe in expressing their honest opinions, they will be able to share all the information relevant to the issue without fear of reprimand because they know the discussion will be focused on finding a solution rather than assigning blame.

By keeping these tenets in mind, you'll be able to take a more rational approach toward conflicts in the workplace, and you'll find that you're dealing with anger better.

Creating a Supportive Work Environment

To reduce issues with workplace anger, it's important to foster a supportive work environment. A workplace where positive interactions are promoted requires the combined efforts of the employees and management, and it is the management that has to play the key role. By fostering respect, understanding, and strong interpersonal relationships, there will be notably reduced stress in the workplace, leading to a lowered potential for anger.

Encouraging a Culture of Respect and Understanding

Having clear policies against harassment, bullying, and discrimination is a good way to ensure every individual is treated with dignity and empathy, or at the very least, reduce the potential for conflicts. Creating a safe space for open dialogue allows employees to comfortably share their thoughts and concerns, so they will feel secure in expressing themselves without having to worry about unfair consequences.

Besides, policies are crucial, but effective implementation and enforcement matter more than just having them in place.

Building Healthy Relationships with Colleagues and Supervisors

Being empathetic with your coworkers is a start to creating a collaborative environment. Being clear and respectful in the way that you communicate, as well as learning to see your coworkers' perspectives on issues will make them respect you more, as well as reduce workplace stress and anger. Building trust and a collaborative atmosphere is the key to comfortable working environment; so instead of simply focusing on how well-liked you are to your colleagues, it is a good idea to get that helicopter view and think what can be done for common harmony in the first place.

When to Seek Professional Help

Not everyone can manage their anger on their own. Sometimes, despite your best efforts, you'll need to seek professional help. Recognizing the need for help. and taking action proactively is more beneficial that waiting until someone else points it out. Let's look at a few signs that indicate you should seek professional help:

• Frequent anger/irritability, even over seemingly minor issues
• Intense reactions to situations
• Urge to react physically in anger, such as breaking things, hitting a wall, aggressive gestures, or even interpersonal violence
• Verbal aggression, such as yelling, swearing, or using hurtful statements
• Difficulty calming down
• You feel the need to control others or situations just to avoid getting angry
• The people around you walk on eggshells out of fear of triggering your anger

So let's say that you do deal with these issues, and you want to seek professional help. What should you look for?

Counselling

Individual therapy that focuses on your anger can help explore its root cause. With counselling, your therapist/counsellor will be able to tailor a strategy unique to your needs, helping you develop healthy coping mechanisms, and possibly even help resolve the root cause that is the source of your anger. They can also help you understand your past experiences with anger and identify stressors in your current workplace that contribute to anger.

Anger Management Classes

Anger management classes are psychoeducational programs designed to help participants identify triggers and develop healthy, productive coping mechanisms. You will be working alongside other individuals who also struggle with anger issues, so know that you aren't alone in this. These classes offer cognitive restructuring and coping skill development, as well as teaching you techniques for stress management, communication, and conflict resolution.

Conclusion

Staying calm at work won't always be easy, but it's an essential ability if you intend to be successful. Conflict at work is unavoidable, and your ability to remain calm and composed during these ordeals is a critical skill that will impact your relationships and productivity. Through this article, we've explored every aspect of anger in the workplace, from how it may arise to how you can deal with it in the short and long term. Now that you know the theory of it all, it's time to put it into practice. Using the strategies mentioned in this article will help you make leaps and bounds in dealing with anger in the workplace, and help you foster a positive workplace environment. We at Liven hope that we've been able to assist you in understanding this key issue in the workplace.

Bibliography

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Hopper, Susan I., et al. “Effectiveness of Diaphragmatic Breathing for Reducing Physiological and Psychological Stress in Adults.” JBI Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports, vol. 17, no. 9, Sept. 2019, pp. 1855–1876, https://doi.org/10.11124/jbisrir-2017-003848.

Mental Health America. “What Is Emotional Intelligence and How Does It Apply to the Workplace?” Mental Health America, 2025, mhanational.org/what-emotional-intelligence-and-how-does-it-apply-workplace.