Understanding Anger in 3 steps

For us to manage anger, we need to understand where it comes from.

#1. Anger is almost NEVER the primary emotional response.

Anger is so common because society has told us it is the only acceptable emotion, that all other emotions are weak.

A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, or a Sheep in a Wolf Mask? (Emotional Avoidance)

We call them wolves, tigers, or sharks. Bears, eagles and lions symbolize their strength. These are the relentless humans who will stop at nothing to achieve.  They may be loud, seemingly unemotional and intimidating.  Society rewards them with terms such as successful and powerful, and showers them with money.  Other people want to either BECOME them, be WITH them, or even just be AROUND them.

Gorillas in the Midst – Bullying in the Workplace

Workplace Bullying.  It’s the new buzzword on respectful workplace policies.

I was unaware of the term “workplace bullying” until 2013, when I unexpectedly became the target of a bully.  It was sudden, because for about 3 years I did not have a toxic relationship with this individual. We graduated the same year from different colleges with the same degree and worked the same job. I considered us equals, although I was aware she was paid more than I was.  She did have a habit of coming to work late, and was often negative towards our manager, but I wasn’t the type of person who dwelled on that sort of thing.  After about 3 years however, I caught her discussing with another staff member that she had received additional staff discounts and that she knew I had not.  I went to management to talk to them about the unfair staff discounts (as I honestly felt we should have received the same discount for the same service), and that they needed to make it right somehow.

Should your workplace have a bio-hazard symbol on the front door ? Coping with toxic workplace aurae.

What are “aurae”?  What is workplace aurae?

Aurae is plural for aura. An aura is a distinctive atmosphere or quality that seems to surround and be generated by a person, place or thing (dictionary.com).  Simply, the aura is the “vibe” that someone gets when in the vicinity of someone else.

Do you know someone who has that contagious laugh, someone that can always put you in a good mood ?  Or maybe you know someone who does the opposite, has the ability to turn everyone around them sour and bitter without even making eye contact?

Aurae can be positive or negative, and they can be influenced by other aurae very easily.

All workplaces have aurae too.  This is influenced by the employees as well as the physical work environment.  Once a single person becomes disgruntled, negativity can quickly spread across a company to every level, creating an aurae that is so noxious that a company’s OHS manual should include Hazmat suits.