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&lt;p&gt;There&#39;s a very funny video circulating the internet right now: a supercut of film&#39;s best temper tantrums.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Sadly, though, many of the video&#39;s scenes happen where they shouldn&#39;t: in workplaces. From Office Space to Glengarry Glenn Ross, it&#39;s a pretty common film image to see well dressed, grown men scream ate copy machines and bash their desk phones to bits.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;These behaviors, while funny on screen, are a serious career killer in real life. If you&#39;ve ever had a boss or colleague who had temper tantrums, you know the toxic environment they created, and probably also felt feelings of fear, discomfort, and less respect for them.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;As extreme as the episodes in the video are, we&#39;re all capable of a melt down at work, but there&#39;s no reason an embarrassing incident has to involve &lt;em&gt;you.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;All it takes to get through a tough situation with your dignity intact is a little self awareness, a touch of control, and the foresight to know it&#39;s going to be embarrassing to face a broken phone later.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here are our top tips to deal with workplace anger:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1. Zero in on the issue, not the person&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Colleagues who drive you nuts are tricky territory. They&#39;re like your friend&#39;s annoying husband: sure, she may complain about him after a fight. But if you join in and add a few insults yourself, things will sure be awkward at your next get together--when they&#39;ve patched things up.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Jobs, like marriage, are fairly permanent. So unless you&#39;re prepared to quit over a dispute, don&#39;t make enemies at work; &lt;em&gt;work&lt;/em&gt; with people, and you&#39;ll have a much nicer environment to report to every day.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Need to address a problem colleague? Be sure to focus on problem &lt;em&gt;behaviors&lt;/em&gt;, while skipping name calling or personal comments. And do any one-on-one confrontations in private. No one, however annoying, should be called out in public.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2. Consider what you really want &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Sure, at the moment all you want to do is have an epic rage moment and throw your computer monitor. But look deeper. Anger is a surface emotion, and it&#39;s usually covering up more complicated feelings like frustration or fear.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Take a few deep breaths and identify what&#39;s really going on—are you angry because you feel disrespected? Ignored, when you have a good idea? Excluded? You&#39;re in a much better position to fix a situation when you let go of the anger and identify the real issues—then address them.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;3. Focus on clarity of expression&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If you&#39;re arguing with someone who&#39;s insisting that Tuesday&#39;s actually Wednesday, it make be tempting to give up talking and try your hand at table flipping.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Don&#39;t. Before assuming the other person is a jerk, ask yourself if you&#39;re making your side of the problem clear—or if you&#39;re misunderstanding &lt;em&gt;their&lt;/em&gt; side. It&#39;s easy to miss a few key words in a heated conversation, so slow it down and repeat back what you&#39;re hearing.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Once you&#39;ve check your understanding, calmly and clearly present &lt;em&gt;your&lt;/em&gt; side. By making it your goal to articulate your reasoning—not to &quot;win&quot;—you&#39;ll be keeping the conversation on a positive, collaborative path, and diffusing your own inner Hulk.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;4. Step into the other person&#39;s shoes&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;You&#39;re reading advice on how to control your anger! Great job! You&#39;re probably a Zen Buddhist compared to some of your rage-a-holic colleagues. But you can&#39;t expect everyone to be so self aware.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;When you feel a colleague, or heaven forbid, your boss, is being unreasonable, it&#39;s possible they are. But you&#39;re not off the hook for trying to understand them (and lapsing into bad behavior yourself). Are they lashing out over hurt feelings? Embarrassment? Fear for their job?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Try looking at a situation from your opponent&#39;s perspective. &quot;Problems&quot; may not make their behavior right, but it will shed new light on how to approach them more effectively, and help you feel less anger if you&#39;re being treated poorly in the moment. Then, keeping your cool head, you can diffuse the situation together, instead of dissolving into a screaming match.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;5. Have an escape plan&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Sometimes, you just have to cut your losses and day drink. Kidding! But it really doesn&#39;t hurt to have a friend who works in the neighborhood on speed dial for throw-your-desk bad days.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If you really feel overwhelmed, or like the situation has stopped being productive, do not pass go, do not collect $200: leave the room.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;You&#39;ll recharge your brain and cool off, so you&#39;re better able to finish the conversation later.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;At very least, you&#39;ll avoid an epic meltdown—and a walk of shame to the supply closet for a new phone.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;--Cathy Vandewater, Vault.com&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Read More:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://jezebel.com/5937379/supercut-proves-that-an-adult-throwing-a-temper-tantrum-is-the-funniest-thing-ever&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Supercut Proves That an Adult Throwing a Temper Tantrum Is the Funniest Thing Ever&lt;/a&gt; (Jezebel) &lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;/blog/workplace-issues/do-i-banking-and-worklife-balance-mix/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Does Work/Life Balance Exist on Wall Street?&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;/blog/workplace-issues/4-reasons-why-taking-breaks-is-good-for-you/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;4 Reasons Why Taking Breaks is Good for You&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Cathy Vandewater

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