Anger Management and Emotional Intelligence Development

Emotions play a fundamental role in people’s lives. Emotions are neither good nor bad; they are just emotions, but the way they are expressed can have a positive or negative impact on the lives of people and those around them.

Anger is generally seen as a negative emotion, usually accompanied by aggressive behavior and words.

In the corporate and managerial field, anger can manifest itself for various reasons, with a toxic environment, ineffective communication, and an imbalance between work and personal life being some of the reasons.

People in managerial and corporate fields need to learn to manage their anger in a healthy way, which will help them to have a favorable management of their emotions and interpersonal relationships.

Anger as an emotional response in high-pressure environments

Anger is a basic human emotion. It manifests when people are dealing with stressful or challenging situations. Anger is a way of dealing with situations that generate stress, as a coping mechanism. When anger appears, people may feel upset, along with sweating and increased heart rate. When the person explodes, their emotions are regulated.

Work environments with high levels of stress can influence the appearance of anger. Long work hours, toxic work environment, unrealistic goals, and poor balance between work and personal life, can lead to a person exploding. Feeling that one cannot solve a problem, sudden changes in the work environment, and ineffective communication, lead people to express anger in a way that they often regret later.

Another reason why anger manifests is due to the passion that someone has for their work. The desire to do things well, meet expectations, and go the extra mile. When their goals are not achieved, people may express anger as a way of feeling frustrated, that they have failed.

Many people may feel bad after expressing their anger. This emotion is often associated with something negative due to how many people tend to react. Emotions like these are seen as those that should be hidden when people must learn to manage their anger more healthily.

The high pressure that exists in the environment can lead to people exploding, manifesting their anger. Expressing anger is not a bad thing, it is part of the emotions of human beings, rather it is how anger makes a person act in the moment. Uncontrolled anger can lead to a person yelling loudly at another, physical altercations, or breaking things. In extreme cases, losing control.

What are the triggers of anger in administrative and corporate environments?

The reasons why people express anger in the corporate and managerial spheres are different, and among the most common are:

• Frustration: When a person feels that they are not achieving their goals, that expectations are unrealistic, constant pressure from management and work imbalance, anger appears.

• Toxic environment: Constant conflicts between colleagues, a work environment full of gossip and criticism that is not constructive, and little recognition of the work of others, can lead the person to create resentment and at a certain moment explode.

• Poor balance between work and personal life: People can feel anger when they feel that they have little time for the things they would like to do, such as spending time with their loved ones. They create resentment in the corporate environment, which leads them to generate anger over time.

Emotional intelligence and anger management

Emotional intelligence is the ability that people have to express, regulate, and understand their emotions and those of others. A person with a high level of emotional intelligence is aware of how the management of their emotions impacts the different areas of their life, the corporate one being.

People make decisions based on how they feel, so knowing the influence of their emotions can help them to be more assertive people.

In anger management, having a high level of emotional intelligence is essential to manage this emotion healthily. One of its main objectives is to help people understand why anger is present and how it can manifest itself, from correct management.

Anger in management and corporate environments appears for different reasons such as a way of masking vulnerability, perfectionist tendencies, and extreme concern for work because they want everything to go well.

In other words, feeling anger is not bad, it affects how people express their anger in the organizational environment.

A high level of emotional intelligence allows a person to understand their environment and the elements that trigger their anger. Through this discovery, people begin to work on these aspects, which are key to learning how to express anger.

When anger is not managed in the organizational culture

When anger is not managed properly in the workplace, various problems can arise. It can lead to the creation of unhealthy situations where the work environment becomes boring, being able to destabilize not only the person expressing the anger but also the person receiving it.

Anger in the organizational environment creates tension among members. People can feel tense all the time because they do not know how the other person will react after their angry attack. They can be expectant, working with fear and worry.

When anger is not managed in organizational environments, it can lead to poor collaboration between members. Work becomes difficult since no one wants to work with someone who they perceive may attack them again.

Strategies for Anger Management

Some strategies to manage anger are:

1. Identifying anger triggers: Part of emotional intelligence is identifying which elements influence your emotions and how you express them. People must work on self-knowledge to connect deeply with their emotions and thus know how they affect their actions.

2. Learning to regulate anger: With self-awareness comes self-regulation. When people identify anger triggers, they can self-regulate their actions to express it healthily.

   Taking deep breaths for a few seconds, moving away from the situation instead of reacting, and distracting yourself with actions that generate more positive emotions, are some of the ways to manage anger. It is important that people feel empathy towards themselves and others, understanding the nature of the human being.

3. Effective communication: Good communication helps both parties understand each other and avoid misunderstandings. Due to confusing communication, situations can be misinterpreted, causing anger. It is important to express the message clearly, be honest, and learn to listen to others with empathy, trying to understand what they feel.

4. Seek help: There are times when people may have difficulty managing their anger on their own, and professional help is a good option. Therapy is a way for people to understand the causes of their anger and why they cannot control it. In therapy, they learn strategies that will allow them to handle situations that trigger anger in an unsatisfactory way.