The Benefits of Anger in the Workplace

Most of the Time, when we think of anger, we think of its negative effects. That's why anger is often seen as the forbidden emotion. People who express anger are considered to be "irrational," and "out of control," two of the worst things that can be said about a person. This is particularly true in organizations, where people are supposed to leave their emotions at the workplace door. What many people don't realize—or never consider—is that anger in itself is neither positive nor negative. If managed effectively, anger can be a positive and productive emotion.

The Positive Side of Anger
It's easier to determine the most productive response to anger when we're removed from the conflict and from angry feelings. At this distance, we can also better see anger's positive side.

By considering a common anger scenario and imagining a productive response, we can see that conflicts in a dynamic group are not only necessary but also potentially productive.

Work groups must make decisions about the allocation of resources, the relative priority of goals, and the various means for reaching goals. Conflict, and the anger produced by conflict, shows that group members care about their product and are contributing diverse opinions. The twofold step of considering differences and resolving them is critical to any organization's efforts to adapt in a rapidly changing environment. That's why the leading research indicates that conflict over tasks within a work group contributes to better outcomes, even when the conflict is intense enough to provoke angry feelings, as long as people stay focused on the work itself—the resources allocated, goal setting, task planning, and execution.

When anger is focused on the work itself, it can become highly valuable. Such anger can do a number of things:

Act as channel for energy that fuels intensive work and long hours

Lead a person to persist against the odds in pursuit of difficult goals

Act as a channel into creativity and innovation

Prompt debate over competing points of view, resulting in better decisions

Lead to the kind of healthy competition that drives productivity and quality

Provide important data on policies, practices, relationships, behavior, and conditions

Lead to improvements in the above when the data is handled properly

Of course, anger doesn't always remain focused on the work, even if it originated there. Often work-related anger degenerates into interpersonal anger. However, even interpersonal anger can be very valuable when managed effectively. It can do such positive things as:

Lead to fruitful discussion, resolution, and action that dramatically improves a strained relationship

Motivate a person to face strong competitors

Motivate a person to confront wrongdoers

Draw attention to injustice or perceived injustice

If you find that you have not, then consider how you might use your anger more positively in the future.