In journalism, slight anger is balance for course. Or so I was told at the time of my internship with a news channel.
In journalism, slight anger is balance for course. Or so I was told at the time of my internship with a news channel. This, right after a senior producer had disposed of and fights out a correspondent in the walkway for not giving a story in time.
The explanations – the daily timeline strain, competitive atmosphere and a regular rat race. Since then, we all have faced a number of public warnings, arguments and common shouting. So much so, most of us don’t even blink an eye now and certainly, some of us in secret miss it!
1) Be ironic
But corporate anger hasn’t actually been examined. It’s hard to measure and its unpleasant impact hard to count. Indeed, there have been studies that establish how a little fury tied with irony really enhances output. A study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology examined how listening to different types of customer service calls influenced students and their capacity to perform. The study explains that people who were exposed to rage and sarcasm worked harder and smarter than people in a neutral atmosphere. Initially, the students were made to hear to angry calls and pleasant calls.
The outcome – the angry calls made them more determined but not essentially any better at solving problems. What actually worked was ironic joking.
The conclusion – Regardless of also hearing to a form of anger — although laced with funniness this time — these students performed better on the imaginative problems. The original anger facilitated to focus the students, the intrinsic humour of irony helped to counterbalance the harm that anger can do.
The other side – even if people exposed to fury work harder, a consistent angry supervisor/work atmosphere can have a depressing impact within the team and the company as a whole.
2) Manage your rage
Then again, angry people are everywhere — some ironic, some shouters. But how do you manage your responses to someone’s fury? In my earlier office, I walked into the washroom only to bump into a crying co-worker. In-between weeps; she recounted how her desk manager shouted at her in front of everyone. Her reaction was humble acceptance and walking off from the picture to weep in the washroom later.
Then again, there’s a former co-worker who chose to harden up and reply brimstone with fire. Joining a news agency well-known for its open vocal fights, she soon gained a resentful swearing dictionary. But HR professionals recommend against both the approaches.
The sole way to handle a fuming person is to have an open conversation. Try and reach a solution serenely and then advance your HR or the head. If all else fails, search for a new job.
3) Be sensible
For dealing with someone’s fury, a common method suggested by cognitive-behavioural counsellors is to give people a different structure through which to view an angry person. If someone is shouting at you, give it a situation such as they’ve just received some bad news and are now taking it out on you.
