Being mad as hell can work

By Kathy McCabe, The Daily Telegraph

IT has been the mantra of the embattled worker for more than 30 years since Peter Finch immortalised the angry outburst as news anchor Howard Beale in the award-winning film Network.

Beale galvanised the frustrated with his oft-quoted rant: “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!”

According to the findings of a four- decade study by psychiatrists at Harvard Medical School, if you want to get ahead in the workplace, a dummy spit could be the way to go.

In the film, Beale’s vitriolic vent got him promoted – until he was murdered on air because of bad ratings.

The crux of the Harvard study is that too much anger management and pill popping to subdue the natural urge to tell someone you’re not happy has an adverse affect on our professional and personal lives.

They found those who “constructively” express their anger in the office are more likely to enjoy professional advancement while those who keep their rage bottled up eventually hit the glass ceiling.

The Harvard team certainly are not suggesting that we embrace our inner caveman and let loose with unbridled fury and violence.

But 55 per cent of the 824 people who the psychiatrists followed over 44 years said an angry episode produced a positive outcome including improving communication and understanding between colleagues.

As someone with a very short fuse and very high stress levels, I know I felt positively elated a few months ago after hitting the telephone cradle with the handset numerous times. One colleague sitting nearby said they had enjoyed a vicarious thrill from the rhythmic, not-too-hard, not-too-soft pounding of plastic against plastic.

The person on the other end of the line who had catalysed my anger by asking the same question seven times had hung up, so there was no damage done to their hearing or pride.

I even told them about my phone rage episode later that evening over a few drinks and we all had a good laugh.

Many years ago, a despairing dummy spit after being called in to work on my day off for the fourth week in a row after a very long lunch even scored me a small pay rise.

Although I wouldn’t suggest this as an appropriate course of action in the current economic climate.

Colleagues begged me yesterday not to reveal the odd angry shot we employ to deal with vexing phone or email exchanges.

After politely signing off from the instigator of our rising bile, we let fly with a loud and satisfying string of invective. The ensuing laughter tends to calm our frazzled nerves.

The Harvard scientists are definitely onto something. It is upsetting to see frustration etched on the faces of the stiff upper lipped when the majority of their colleagues remain oblivious to their feelings. I even get angry on their behalf.

The occasional “I’m mad as hell” outburst has got to be better for the soul and sanity than popping Prozac.