IT'S EVERYWHERE: road rage, airplane rage, mail rage. And news reports abound with accounts of angry, stressed-out workers with hair-trigger tempers who erupt in fits of office rage. Yelling. Punching computers. Fistfighting. And worse. Experts blame an economy gone sour, long hours, increased workloads, deadlines, longer commutes, stock-market tumult and cramped office space. Even technology itself. What gets blamed often depends on who's doing the blaming.

The Marlin Co., a consulting company that provides motivational, safety and educational tools to corporations, says the culprits are stress and resentment about fellow employees' abusing personal use of technology at work. According to its annual survey on attitudes in the American workplace, 80 percent of us said we're stressed at work, and 9 percent reported being aware of an assault or other violent act in the workplace in the past year. However, despite its "safety" offerings, the Marlin Co. services don't seem to discourage aggressive behavior. One of the motivational posters it provides to clients depicts a thuggish little boy with clenched fists and bared teeth and the caption: "Determination. Be tough. Be persistent. Be a dude with an attitude."

In another camp, Integra Realty, a commercial real estate valuation and counseling organization, says the cause of today's rage is a lack of office space and privacy. According to a recent study by Integra, one in eight employees surveyed said that overcrowded physical conditions contribute to their workplace stress. Twenty-six percent said "it's time for my employer to redecorate." And one in 12 Americans (8 percent) said the chair he or she sits in at work "hurts my butt." Seriously.

Apparently, open-space office plans decorated with Magic 8 Balls haven't inspired employees to clasp hands for impromptu renditions of "Kumbaya." Integra urges cooling office rage with more space and comfy chairs.

The real epidemic, says Peter Stearns, PhD provost of George Mason University and author of books on the history of emotion in relation to contemporary sociology, is the taboo against anger in the workplace. "We're so uncomfortable with anger, we tend to label it very quickly," he says. "We've declared that people at work should not get angry." Corporate America has made it very difficult for employees to express even mild anger at work, Stearns says. "If you do, you're [labeled] immature, a non-team player. Or maybe something's wrong at home." With no outlets for anger, some people tend to repress it until they explode in one big outburst. Stearns says, "It may be better to deal with a bit of anger than pretend it doesn't exist at all."

Mad yet? Aw, shut up and go consult your Magic 8 Ball.

» posted by ITworld staff

CIO

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