Anger is skyrocketing in the workplace. The result? Bullying, violence, high anxiety, poor performance and lower productivity.
When did everyone get so angry? I don’t know about you, but I am seeing more anxiety, anger and aggression in my interactions every day. If you think this troubling dynamic is on the rise, you’re right: Forty percent more people reported high levels of anxiety last year, on top of a 36 percent jump in 2017.
Anger and associated behaviors are skyrocketing in the workplace too. Sixty-two percent of workers report being impacted by incivility at work at least once a month, and 75 percent of employees say they’ve been affected by bullying—two million American workers per year report being victims of workplace violence.
New York Times columnist David Brooks recently suggested historians define our era by pervasive fear in politics, media and society. Brooks concluded, “Fear comes in the night. But eventually, you have to wake up in the morning, get out of bed and get stuff done.”
People bring their feelings of fear to work, where the outrage and tribalism of daily life are compounded by the uncertainty and stress of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. How can someone who is already worried they’ll be replaced by an algorithm meet the workday with optimism? How can they handle “ordinary” stress? It’s tempting to retreat to our angry corners and snarl at the world, just like we do on Twitter.
As leaders, how can we break the grip of toxic forces so that you can get stuff done?
It’s Not You, It’s Evolution
An unfair judgment or a sarcastic remark triggers autonomic responses in our brains that evolved ages ago, stimulating the fight, flee or freeze reactions once necessary for survival. The subconscious mind, however, can’t distinguish between real or imagined threats, and when we suppress our reaction (through etiquette or fear), the autonomic nervous system keeps right on sending that danger signal. Anxiety—the fear of future threat—is the result, creating tension, worried thoughts and physical responses like increased blood pressure. It’s not always logical, but it’s a physiological reality.
Let’s follow the chain of reactions through two more steps: