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Have you ever felt frustrated at work? Did you identify what made you feel like that? Uncomfortable or challenging situations are most likely the root of this feeling. Whether it’s a recurring pattern or a one-time thing, it’s essential you learn the exact causes and how to deal with anger and other negative emotions to succeed in the workplace.
As challenging as it seems, there are productive ways to handle employee frustration and benefit your personal growth; in order to achieve it, you need to understand the causes of your anger and learn to process it even through adverse situations.
First of all, it’s essential to be clear that it’s ok to be angry at work. Despite the unpleasant sense of employee frustration, this is a perfectly normal feeling for most of the workforce, especially because there are many reasons and situations that can trigger your frustration at work.
Here are some of the most common reasons you might become frustrated at work.
Stressful work environments are at the top of the list when it comes to feeling frustrated at work. If you’ve been experiencing excessive workloads, unrealistic deadlines, and workplace conflicts are common attributes at your job, you’re more likely to develop frustration and turn into an angry employee.
Poor communication skills are the root of conflicts and misunderstandings. If you’ve noticed communication has become an issue in your office, that can be another reason you feel angry at work, especially if ineffective communication leads to unaddressed concerns to your manager or feeling undervalued or unheard.
This has become a common trait in workplaces dealing with employee disengagement. The sense of being over checked or losing your autonomy and decision-making will transform into resentment toward your employer. The dangerous aspect of this cause is most of the time micromanagement is normalized, which makes it harder to address.
Even though this is a more noticeable sign, it triggers anger at work faster. Work discrimination, favoritism, or lack of recognition are game-breakers when it comes to keeping high employee engagement. One of the most frustrating and demoralizing sensations as a worker is feeling your work isn’t valued or seeing others receive the credit for it.
This sign can either come from the inside or outside. If your performance fails to align with your expectations or career goals, you are on the path to becoming frustrated at work. Whether it’s because of a lack of career growth opportunities or you are a perfectionist with your job, losing sight of your true value as a professional and individual is self-defeating for your peace of mind.
As mentioned in the first point, toxic work environments threaten employees’ wellness, especially when companies fail to guarantee a healthy work-life balance. Lack of positive workplace culture and poor leadership habits will undoubtedly lead to chronic anger and frustration at work.
Last but not least, personal dilemmas are another common reason for frustration at work. You can be in the most healthy work environment with an extraordinary career growth projection. Still, if you have any external stressors or unresolved issues in your mind, your emotional management can break down, leading you to become susceptible to anger triggers.
Before tackling the pro tips for dealing with anger at work, you should know that soft skills are the foundation of these best practices. Their effectiveness will depend on how solid these abilities are in your skill set.
Particularly, emotional intelligence will be the cornerstone to effectively managing work frustration. Your ability to process and communicate your emotions so they come out in a positive and productive way will set the pace for the actions you’ll take to turn around the situation.
Emotional intelligence will also allow you to remain empathetic to your coworkers even when frustrated in the workplace. If you add communication skills to the mix, you’ll find yourself with more tools to communicate your feelings positively even when you’re feeling angry and ultimately get a more positive outcome.
Adaptability skills are another set of abilities that can set you up for success when you’re angry at work. Chaos often brings new opportunities, and in this particular case, the frustration may be a sign that you need to move toward your objectives in a different way; therefore, being able to learn from these kinds of adversities and use them to your favor is key to coming out ahead.
One of the main goals of this set of soft skills is to balance your emotions before reacting to any situation or other coworkers’ feelings. Instead, it will also help you focus on yourself, find out why you are really angry, communicate the source of your frustrations without aggravating the situation, and lastly, ask what you need as clearly as possible.
Although emotional intelligence and other soft skills make up half of the work when dealing with anger at work, some pro tips will help you lessen the burden and tackle the problem. Find below some recommended actions for whenever you’re feeling frustrated with your position at work.
One of the first things to do when you’re feeling frustrated at work is to pause and take a deep breath before reacting to any stressful or discouraging situation. Even though conflicts are inevitable in the workplace, if you spare time to think through emotions and reactions, you’ll be more in control over what happens next in any opposing situation.
Whenever you feel angry toward a coworker, manager, or any situation, before acting up, think about what you’ll say or do next, even if this means removing yourself from the case. The main goal behind this pro tip is to notice your negative emotions right from the start of a frustrating situation just to guarantee you won’t react.
A key action to anticipate frustrating situations or even prevent the downsides and turn the page faster when you’re angry at work is to recognize and understand patterns, words, and common triggers. By doing so, you can develop hacks, such as changing perspectives, setting boundaries, or seeking support or mediation to avoid or face these triggers more effectively.
After identifying the source of your frustration and putting words to your emotions, pinpoint any positive aspects that can come up from this situation. Finding the upside of any frustrating situation will allow you to identify any possible benefits you can get from adversity, ultimately leading to approaching the issue with less anxiety.
Even if it seems meaningless, don’t underestimate the power of positive thinking. This powerful tool lets you replace negative or irrational thoughts with rational and self-affirming statements. Approaching work frustration this way will allow you to reframe negative beliefs, shift your perspective, and face conflicting situations with a more balanced mindset.
Sharing your feelings and the whole picture with a trusted colleague or manager, who ideally will provide a neutral and objective perspective, is another helpful method to get validation and emotional support. On top of that, you’ll gain insight, find possible solutions, and feel less isolated in dealing with your frustration.
Even though you’ll have the chance to vent out your feelings, keep in mind that the main goal of this pro tip is to gain a neutral perspective and, therefore, a possible solution, so focus on sharing the actual facts of why you’re frustrated at work.
Feeling frustrated at work is also a call for evaluating your career path. Even though it’s not necessary to quit your job, it’s an excellent opportunity to weigh in on how much progress you’re making with your goals and what you can do to get back on track again.
In case you’ve made up your mind to switch jobs or go after a career change, make sure to get the confidential assistance from a gpac recruiter to plan your move and make a smooth transition.
If changing jobs doesn’t seem the right solution, you can try changing other aspects outside the workplace. Modifying your morning routine, doing a hobby after work, learning a skill non-related to your craft, renewing your workstation, or trying a new workspace if you work from home are just a few actions to keep your mind at peace.
A really simple but highly effective method of dealing with anger at work is to keep your mind busy, especially if one of the reasons you’re feeling frustrated is that you’ve developed imposter syndrome.
Even though this sense isn’t a true reflection of your performance and influence in the company, strengthening your skill set with a new course or certification will allow you to feel your qualifications remain in force and ultimately regain confidence in yourself.
Even though anger can trigger your most incendiary reactions, especially when you’re in conflict with somebody else, trying to smooth things down with the other people involved is a better way to go.
Active listening can help you empathize with the other side of the problem so you can find an agreement more quickly. Showing respect to verbal and non-verbal cues, showing respect, and fostering a conducive environment where constructive feedback and conflict resolution are the priority will help ease your anger at work.
Keeping a healthy work-life balance and promoting awareness with your coworkers and manager about the importance of employee wellness practices can be a game changer in avoiding frustration at work. A well-balanced mind and body will make you resilient and more in control of anger triggers.
Getting enough sleep, nurturing healthy work relationships, exercising, and having an organized schedule are just a few ways to avoid experiencing burnout and reduce negative emotions in the workplace.
It’s vital to point out you don’t have to limit your actions to the list above. You could find more ways to deal with your employee frustration depending on the causes of it, your personality, other parts involved, etc. The key is to keep an analytical approach to the situation so you can find the best solution for job frustration.
Contributed by Luis Arellano
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