POINTLESS MEETINGS SPARK OFFICE RAGE

[Anonymous]

Pointless meetings spark ‘office rage’
Workers at breaking point, finds survey
Oct
2007 Long and pointless meetings are the principal cause of anger in
European offices, according to new research into ‘office rage’ by
digital imaging company Canon.The poll also found that ill manners and
office politics are most likely to frustrate workers in the UK and
Ireland.Some 68 per cent of respondents cited ‘being spoken down to’ as
the most common cause of work related stress in the office, followed by
‘office politics’ cited by 58 per cent.As many as eight in 10 office
workers in the UK and Ireland have witnessed acts of ‘visible anger’
when colleagues have let their frustration get the better of them.It
seems that the Italians are the worst, however, as 94 per cent of
respondents claimed that displays of anger are ‘commonplace’ in the
office.The main reason for UK and Ireland workers to lose their temper
was ‘being spoken down to by a boss or colleague’ (61 per cent), but PC
downtime (24 per cent) and people leaving paper jams in printers for
others to fix (24 per cent) also scored highly.The UK’s most angry
offices appear to be Cardiff, where 69 per cent admitted to outbursts
in the office, followed by Belfast and Birmingham both at 56 per
cent.Workers in Dundee, Brighton and Newcastle are the calmest and
least prone to temper tantrums.Nearly 20 per cent of UK workers
admitted to kicking or breaking office equipment when it fails to work,
with the desk, stapler, phone, keyboard and printer most often in the
firing line for acts of retribution.”For people to feel less stressed
in the office, they need to feel more in control of their working life
and working environment,” said Lucy Beresford, a psychotherapist and
occupational stress expert.”When this control is lost through external
events such as a rude boss, sitting in a pointless meeting or a printer
jam that no one wants to fix, it doesn’t take much for the average
office worker to snap.”There is no doubt that office rage is on the
increase, but a range of initiatives such as crisper meetings or
interpersonal kindness could reduce stress levels and even extend the
life expectancy of office equipment.”Beresford recommended several tips
for helping to reduce office rage, including cutting the length and
frequency of meetings and ensuring a specific agenda.She also mentioned
taking to colleagues and bosses about frustrations in the workplace,
and not being rude or getting involved in office politics.Beresford
urged everyone to take time to relax during the working day, as well as
making sure that they take a proper lunch break and get enough sleep at
night.

[Author]

October 11, 2007 at 12:26 PM