A Message in the Madness: Functions of Workplace Anger in Organizational Life

Abstract

Although workplace anger is not typically viewed favorably and is often an unpleasant experience, in this article we challenge management scholars to better understand when anger can produce positive as well as negative outcomes at work. Our aim is to address the complexity and ambiguity surrounding anger at work and simultaneously offer a more balanced perspective of its potential. First, we clarify features of the anger experience, examining its intrapersonal, interpersonal, and social–cultural layers as well as differentiating various forms of workplace anger using the dual threshold model (Geddes & Callister, 2007). Second, we address key misunderstandings operating in organizations with regard to anger by reviewing research that illustrates why expressed anger is allowed and found to be appropriate (even beneficial) in certain circumstances and less so in others. Third, we challenge anger’s reputation as a negative emotion by reexamining management literatures that have traditionally eschewed anger, those that have embraced it, and potential areas where anger can shed new light on future research. Finally, we propose that organizations offering “appropriate space” for anger expression can take advantage of its potential to promote constructive conversations and needed change.