British study finds managers and employees alike seethe over unfairness

MONDAY, Jan. 19 (HealthDayNews) -- There's a lot of anger just below the surface in the workplace, and you'd be well-advised not to incur the wrath of a colleague, says a British study.

The University of Lancashire study, which included in-depth interviews with 24 men and women in management and non-management positions in a variety of job sectors, found anger is widespread at work. It most often erupts over immoral behavior (cheating, lying, stealing) or when people feel they've been unfairly treated (unjust criticism or heavy workload).

Other common triggers of workplace anger include incompetence, disrespect, failure to communicate or exclusion.

You may suffer unpleasant consequences if you anger a co-worker. In retaliation, that person may gossip or spread lies about you or assign you undesirable tasks. The person you angered may end up feeling chronically angry about the incident, may leave their job, or allow their anger to affect their home life, the study says.

People who were angry at work used a variety of coping mechanisms such as talking to others, letting off steam, negotiating a resolution, or giving the offender the cold shoulder.

The study concludes that anger at work may have both long- and short-term consequences for individuals and their companies. It's worthwhile for employers to identify and reduce causes of anger.

The study was presented at the recent British Psychological Society conference.

More information

Here's where you can learn more about anger management .

SOURCE: British Psychological Society, news release, Jan. 19, 2004

Copyright © 2004 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

Sunday, February 29, 2004
Story By Peter Sanders, Daily Breeze | Photo By Scott Varley, Daily Breeze | Illustration By Tom Sorensen, Daily Breeze

John Elder seems an unlikely person to illustrate examples of workplace anger.

The 43-year-old anger management counselor exudes a calmness projected by his quiet manner and the small yin-yang earring that peeks from behind his long brown hair.

He sits in a chair and relates the story of a screaming match between an employee and his boss that became so heated, the nearly 500-person calling center came to a standstill to watch the argument.

Although the fight didn't end in violence and the valued sales employee kept his job, the company -- a major Torrance corporation -- sent the man to anger management training.

The training is an increasingly popular tool for companies trying to help employees cope with workplace anger, according to consultants and company representatives.

George Anderson has witnessed this change, seeing his employee-anger related business increase. Anderson is a trained psychotherapist and founder and president of Anderson & Anderson, an anger management firm with an office in Lawndale , where Elder leads his groups.

"Things really changed after 9-11, and we saw an overwhelming number of referrals," said Anderson , 65, in a recent interview at his Brentwood-area headquarters. "Companies and organizations started to recognize there was a need for this kind of service and that it could be truly beneficial."

Hard data on anger in the workplace is thin, and experts acknowledge the field is still fairly new when applied to the work setting.

As a concept, anger management training was popularized -- although in a highly fictionalized way -- in the recent Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson film "Anger Management."

But Anderson, who served as an adviser for the film, says that criminal and family courts have been sending people to anger management training for years.

"About 40 percent of my business comes from court-ordered referrals," he said. "In the last few years people convicted of road rage, simple battery and other offenses have been sent to counseling as a way to take the burden off the courts."

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Roy Paul specializes in family law and has been sending people to anger management counseling for years. He said the training can be applied to many different settings.

"A lot of people don't cope with anger properly," Paul said by telephone from his office. "A well-managed class can teach somebody to recognize their conduct and alter it into acceptable behavior.

"That training can be brought into any arena where one's behavior is not constructive or healthy," he said.

Anderson 's classes typically teach participants how to recognize their anger and then use relaxation methods to calm themselves.

Employees referred to Anderson usually attend 10 counseling sessions, often as a contingent requirement for continued employment.

Depending on the situation, sometimes the company covers the expense and sometimes it comes out of the employee's pocket, Anderson said.

Another of Anderson 's primary functions is training facilitators nationwide who can either enact programs within their corporations or at consulting services that contract with companies.

The U.S. Postal Service, frequently the butt of many workplace anger jokes and a few outbursts of workplace-related violence, recently decided to train its in-house facilitators and disperse them to facilities nationwide.

An official with the Postal Service's National Center for Employee Development in Norman , Okla. , confirmed that a contract had been signed with Anderson 's firm, but would not comment on the record, saying that the program was in its trial phase.

Once an initial batch of facilitators had been trained, the Postal Service would evaluate the program's effectiveness, the official said. He noted there was no specific push for the implementation of the course, saying only that like any large corporation, the Postal Service has many employees who deal with stressful situations.

Although companies are understandably reluctant to discuss anger in the workplace, many companies have systems already in place to deal with it.

At Torrance-based Toyota Motor Sales USA, employees have access to assistance and counseling services paid for by the company.

" Toyota is very concerned with the well-being of its associates," spokeswoman Diana DiJosephs said. "Our Associate Support and Assistance Program is a confidential resource for resolving personal and work-related issues."

The employee assistance program Toyota contracts with also can refer employees to a separate anger management service that will design one-on-one training programs for employees and managers, DiJosephs said.

In other industries, where anger is a daily issue, workers are trained before the fact.

Tow truck drivers, for instance, tend to get more than the usual share of frustration and vitriol flung at them.

Jeff Hunter, executive director of the Palm Springs-based California Tow Truck Association, said members of his group receive customer relations training, which includes managing angry motorists.

"Things are taken out on tow truck drivers by customers. Customers aren't mad at them, but are angry at the situation," Hunter said. Drivers are trained how to defuse the situation and hopefully keep their own stress levels down.

Where anger management falls into the realm of treatment and its proper place in the workplace remains murky.

The Arlington Va.-based American Psychiatric Association, which represents 35,000 doctors, has not taken an official position on the issue, but anger is not typically considered a medical condition, so it usually falls out of the scope of medically trained psychiatrists.

Similarly, the American Psychological Association in Washington , D.C. , would not take an official position for the record. However, in the past it has stated anger management programs may be beneficial.

Dr. Richard Driscoll, a Knoxville , Tenn. , psychologist, believes that anger in the workplace has increased as society's views about expressing emotions have changed.

"Today's society places a greater emphasis on expressing your feelings, while a generation ago the emphasis was always on controlling your feelings," he said by telephone from his Knoxville practice.

"The upside is we are freer to say what's on our minds. The downside is what we say can often be extremely hurtful and cause a stressful situation," Driscoll said.

The key to managing workplace anger, both Driscoll and Anderson believe, lies in training executives and managers.

George Anderson offers individual counseling sessions under the euphemism "Executive Coaching." He routinely coaches movie studio executives, esteemed university professors and Fortune 500 CEOs.

"Controlling your anger and your emotion is a skill," Anderson says. "It's amazing to see the change in the entire work envi ron ment if someone at the top is able to do business in a calmer and more controlled manner."

Major companies also have employed stress management, sometimes known as "Emotional Intelligence," into their corporate training programs and research.

Technology giant Corning , in conjunction with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, recently conducted a wide-ranging study using the company's holistic stress management program, according to a study published by the company.

In the 12-week study, about 3,000 Corning employees nationwide met in group sessions to discuss personal and workplace stress, and learned techniques to cope with their stress and anger.

The company also provided discounted health club memberships and yoga and tai chi classes. An evaluation of the 12-week study revealed that most of the employees' workplace stress declined significantly, although the study did not include solid numerical data showing the change.

Driscoll believes this is a first step in the right step. "Management skill level in America is getting better," he said. "But that doesn't always mean it is a less angry workplace."

Publish Date: February 29, 2004

By Martin Miller
Los Angeles Times

On a recent Saturday morning, four people have come to an introductory anger management class offered by Anderson & Anderson in Los Angeles.

One of them, Renee Moncito, operates a family services agency where tensions can run high. She says she is looking for ways she and her staff can cope with stress. "You have to stay in a 'help' mode," she says.

Television producer Carol Trussell says she has witnessed her share of screaming -- and even fistfights -- on Hollywood sets, and hopes to learn how to improve the workplace atmosphere. "I've had several employees, good employees, who have come to me and said, 'Sorry, I'm leaving. I'm not going to take this. I don't care how much you pay me,'" she says.

Another of the students -- a young husband and new father -- says his wife urged him to seek help after he erupted in anger at her when she put their toddler to sleep for a nap without a diaper. "I've been told I'm a mean person," he says, his head bowed. "I'm very hard on people who don't see things my way," adds the man, who asked that his name not be used. "I know what the solution is, but I can't seem to do it [when I'm angry]."

Tens of thousands of people in this country are channeled into similar anger management classes -- whose aim is to teach people to handle hot emotions without losing control -- every year by long-suffering spouses, the judicial system and workplace officials. And those figures are expected to rise. Every time a celebrity, from boxer Mike Tyson to actress Shannen Doherty, has been ordered to attend anger management classes, many instructors say they have noticed an uptick in clients.

Last year's "Anger Management," a film that co-starred Jack Nicholson -- who in real life smashed a car windshield with a golf club during a traffic dispute -- heightened anger management's national profile. In fact, instructors say, the comedy helped remove some of the shame angry clients had in asking for help.

"It's part of the zeitgeist," says Redford Williams, director of behavioral medicine at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C.

In recent years, more business and governmental organizations have enlisted anger management services not only to treat hotheaded employees but also to stave off problems. Federal postal workers, state prison guards and business leaders have taken workshops and seminars. Some medical schools, such as the University of Miami's, put medical students through training to help them better cope with their own -- and their patients' -- anger.

Judges across the country use the programs as a means to ease overcrowding in prisons and jails, and unclog courtroom calendars, says Pam Hollenhorst, associate director of the Institute of Legal Studies at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, who led one of the few comprehensive studies of anger management research.

Anger management classes lay out how to deal with anger and can vary quite a bit. But most share basic principles of psychology -- understanding, identifying and learning to control angry emotions and employing relaxation techniques to minimize physiological responses to anger.

Most classes, usually led by instructors with backgrounds in social work or counseling, help students decide what is worth getting angry over and what isn't. When anger is appropriate, the classes guide students in how to behave assertively, not aggressively and destructively -- to get what they want. Programs may last from 10 weeks to almost a year and cost from $150 to about $1,000. In part because of the rise in popularity of such classes, no local, state or national standards govern what should be taught or who is qualified to teach.

There also is scant research about whether anger management programs work. The American Psychological Association, which is based in Washington, D.C., and represents psychologists, has said such programs can be beneficial. But the American Psychiatric Association, an Arlington, Va.-based group of 35,000 physicians, has not taken an official position.

"We don't really know enough about what type of anger management program is best, or for whom it works, under what circumstances or for how long," Hollenhorst says."There are as many ways to approach [anger management] as there are people," says W. Doyle Gentry, a clinical psychologist and director of the Institute for Anger Free Living in Lynchburg, Va. "And it's created a lot of confusing, even bizarre, methods that can't be taken seriously. I mean, if they ask you to beat a mattress with a tennis racquet [to work out your anger], it's not going to do you any good."

Another factor is that many people who go through anger management training probably have other conditions, such as bipolar disorder or substance abuse problems, that would predispose them to aggressive behavior, says Dr. Darrel A. Regier, director of research at the psychiatric association.

Other critics contend that dozens of hours of anger management cannot miraculously change years of negative behavior, particularly if the person returns to the same environment.

Advocates agree that one key area of research must be resolved: Does anger management help those who are placed in such programs involuntarily? Although no figures are available, anecdotal evidence indicates a majority go to classes grudgingly or unwillingly, as a means to avoid fines, jail time or loss of employment.

"If you get a guy who is saying, 'I don't have a problem, the world just needs to get off my back,' he's probably not going to change," says Jerry Deffenbacher, a professor of psychology at Colorado State University who studies anger and anger management. He is working with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta to study what types of programs might be effective for drivers who have road rage.

Denial of anger isn't the only indication people might be having trouble. In addition to obvious clues -- excessive drinking, physical fights, hair-trigger tempers -- psychologists say high levels of anger over time can cause physical illness, including headaches and upset stomachs.

Psychologists quickly add that feeling or showing anger doesn't necessarily mean it's time to enroll. Anger is a natural, even healthy, response to certain situations.

Although there's no consensus on when someone should seek anger management treatment, experts say people whose tempers erupt daily or alienate family, friends or co-workers usually are good candidates. Constant, silent stewing also is widely regarded as a sign it is time to seek help.

The Los Angeles Times is a Tribune Co. newspaper.

Copyright (c) 2004, Newsday, Inc.

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Visit Newsday online at http://www.newsday.com

Wednesday, January 28, 2004

Anger is practically a daily ritual of our lives. From Los Angeles' traffic-choked freeways to the pop culture scene, it seems we can't get to work without someone flashing an inappropriate finger or to bed without witnessing the latest celebrity fit or fisticuffs on the Jerry Springier show.

Angry outbursts are now almost expected and encouraged as much for their sheer entertainment as for their redemptive value when used to explain away bad behavior. Just ask anyone who has worked on a television show or movie set in Hollywood. And most recently, baseball great Pete Rose blamed his gambling and lying in part on anger -- something called "oppositional defiant disorder," a condition characterized by physical aggression and usually associated with children.

Into this stewing societal caldron has come "anger management," whose aim is to teach people to handle hot emotions without losing control. The past doesn't matter so much, as it does with psychotherapy, as the "now." Courses lay out how to deal with anger in the moment -- a strategy that promises to improve personal relationships and lessen the chance of blowing up and getting fired or tossed in jail.

In recent years, the workplace, long-suffering spouses and the judicial system are chiefly responsible each year for channeling tens of thousands into anger management classes -- and those figures are expected to rise. Every time a celebrity -- from boxer Mike Tyson to actress Shannon Doherty -- was ordered to attend anger management classes, the program got a boost in name recognition, and many instructors noticed an uptick in clients.

Last year's "Anger Management," a film that co-starred Jack Nicholson, who in real life once smashed a car windshield with a golf club during a traffic dispute, heightened the program's national profile. In fact, anger management instructors say, the comedy helped remove some of the shame angry clients had in asking for help. "It's part of the zeitgeist," said Redford Williams, director of behavioral medicine at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C.

In the last couple of years, more and more business and governmental organizations have enlisted anger management services not only to treat hotheaded employees but also to stave off problems before they emerge. Federal postal workers, state prison guards and business leaders -- who can pay more than $2,500 for one-on-one "coaching" -- have taken workshops and seminars for anger management. Some medical schools, such as the University of Miami's, are putting medical students through special training to help them better cope with their own -- and their patients' -- anger.

The judicial system has created the biggest demand for anger management training. Judges across the country use the programs as a means to ease overcrowding in prisons and jails, and unclog courtroom calendars, said Pam Hollenhorst, associate director of the Institute of Legal Studies at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, who led one of the few comprehensive studies of anger management research. It may cost a county jail from $50 to $100 a day to lock up a defendant for road rage, physical assaults or disturbing the peace. Or the courts can release the defendant and order him to enroll in an anger management course.

"For these kinds of offenses, I think the courts were finding that putting someone in jail for two to six months wasn't doing the trick," said Jerry Deffenbacher, a professor of psychology at Colorado State University who studies anger and anger management. "So [anger management] developed as another tool to attack the problem."

Anger management classes can vary quite a bit. But most share basic principles of psychology -- understanding, identifying and learning to control angry emotions and employing relaxation techniques to minimize the physiological responses to anger.

Most classes, usually led by instructors with backgrounds in social work or counseling, help clients decide what is worth getting angry over and what isn't. And when anger is appropriate, how to behave assertively -- not aggressively and destructively -- to get what you want. Programs, which may last from 10 weeks to almost a year, cost from $150 to about $1,000. In part because of the quick rise in popularity of such classes, no local, state or national standards govern what should be taught in anger management or who is qualified to teach it. Although precise figures are difficult to come by, some estimate that about 7,000 people have been trained nationwide to teach anger-related courses.

Effectiveness questioned
Moreover, there is scant research on anger management to suggest whether these programs work. A few small studies, mostly involving prison inmates and juvenile offenders, have suggested the classes are helpful in discouraging aggressive behavior, but there is no conclusive evidence that they do any good within the general population.

Mental health professionals aren't convinced the programs work. The American Psychological Assn., based in Washington, D.C., and representing psychologists, has said that such programs can be beneficial. But the American Psychiatric Assn., an Arlington, Va.-based group that represents 35,000 physicians, has not taken an official position. "We don't really know enough about what type of anger management program is best," said the University of Wisconsin's Hollenhorst. "Or for whom it works, under what circumstances, or for how long."

Without regulation, some advocates of anger management programs are concerned that the field won't be taken seriously and that its reputation could suffer.

"There are as many ways to approach [anger management] as there are people," said W. Doyle Gentry, a clinical psychologist and director of the Institute for Anger Free Living in Lynchburg, Va. "And it's created a lot of confusing, even bizarre, methods that can't be taken seriously. I mean, if they ask you to beat a mattress with a tennis racquet [to work out your anger], it's not going to do you any good."

Anger management advocates say California is poised to take the lead in setting standards for the field. In 2001, the state became the first in the nation to enact a law giving judges the power to order drivers charged in road rage cases to complete anger management courses in addition to, or in lieu of, suspending driving privileges.

Regulations to standardize anger management are slowly being drafted, modeled on techniques used in domestic violence prevention programs, said George Anderson, a psychotherapist and founder of Anderson & Anderson, an anger management business in Los Angeles that claims to have trained about 4,500 instructors.

Anderson, who helped author the state's domestic violence legislation, has been working with Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson (D-Culver City) and other state leaders to establish standards for materials, teacher qualifications and an overall curriculum for anger management. But given the state's current budget crunch, progress isn't expected any time soon. "The state isn't going to have the money to implement it now," said Anderson, who gets nearly 40% of his clients from county court referrals. "It would amount to an unfunded mandate, and those are ignored."

Further complicating efforts to regulate the profession is the American Psychiatric Assn.'s designation of anger as a symptom of other, more serious, mental disorders and not a genuine condition of its own, say advocates. Without the kind of recognition accorded such disorders as major depression, the field of anger research is unlikely to attract much funding.

Dr. Darrel A. Regier, the director of research at the American Psychiatric Assn., said anger management programs lacked a body of research demonstrating their effectiveness, adding that designing such studies won't be easy. It is likely, he said, that many people who go through anger management training have other conditions, such as bipolar disorder or substance abuse problems, that would predispose them to aggressive behavior. That would pose a difficulty for researchers trying to evaluate the programs.

Beyond that, other critics contend that dozens of hours of anger management cannot miraculously change years of negative behavior, particularly if the person returns to the same environment that allowed it to fester.

Advocates agree that one key area of research must be resolved: Does anger management help people who are placed in such programs involuntarily? Although no figures are available, anecdotal evidence indicates a majority of participants go to classes grudgingly or unwillingly, as a means to avoid fines, jail time or the loss of employment.

"If you get a guy who is saying, 'I don't have a problem, the world just needs to get off my back,' he's probably not going to change," said Deffenbacher, the Colorado State University researcher who is working with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta to study what types of programs might be effective for road rage drivers. "If we're going to require [anger management] interventions, we really need to find out if they work and under what conditions."

Denial of anger isn't the only indication someone might be having trouble with their temper. In addition to the obvious clues -- excessive drinking, physical fights, hair-trigger tempers -- psychologists say high levels of anger over time can cause physical illness, including headaches and upset stomachs.

Psychologists quickly add that feeling or showing anger in and of itself doesn't mean it's time to enroll. Anger is a natural, even healthy, response to certain situations. Without industry standards, there's no consensus on exactly when someone should seek anger management treatment. But generally, most in the field agree that people whose bad tempers erupt daily or alienate family, friends or co-workers are probably good candidates. (Likewise, constant, silent stewing, even when not expressed, is widely regarded as a sign it is time to seek help.)

On a recent Saturday morning in Los Angeles, a group of four people have come to an introductory class offered by Anderson & Anderson at its Wilshire Boulevard offices. Some of the students are interested in becoming instructors; others hope to gain better control of their own anger.

Easing job stress
Renee Moncito operates a family services agency in Los Angeles where tensions can run high. Moncito said she was looking for ways that she and her staff can cope with stress. "You have to stay in a 'help' mode," said Moncito. Television producer Carol Trussell said she had witnessed her share of screaming, yelling, even fistfights on Hollywood sets, and she was looking for a way to improve the workplace atmosphere. "I've had several employees, good employees, who have come to me and said, 'Sorry, I'm leaving. I'm not going to take this. I don't care how much you pay me.' " she said. "The networks and the studios are beginning to realize anger is an issue in our business that we have to deal with."

Anderson's classes focus on different topics each session -- strategies for handling high-risk situations in one class, developing emotional intelligence in another. But this morning's class was introductory, and the students were asked to explain to the group what had brought them there.

The class included one man -- a young husband and new father -- who said his wife had urged him to seek help after he erupted in anger at her when she put their toddler to sleep for a nap without a diaper. "I've been told I'm a mean person," he said with his head bowed. "I'm very hard on people who don't see things my way," said the man, who asked that his name not be used. "I know what the solution is, but I can't seem to do it [when I'm angry]."

BYLINE: Martin Miller
Copyright 2004 The Times Mirror Company January 19, 2004

George Anderson speaks to 400 members of the Philippine Psychiatric Association in Manila. The topic of the speech was: Anger Management, A cost saving intervention. The speech was well received and Anderson has been invited to return in March to train Psychiatrists in the Anderson & Anderson model of anger management. Take a glance at the convention below:

Over the last two months, a number of major developments in anger management have occurred. George Anderson, director of Anderson & Anderson, has appeared on National Public Radio on “All Things Considered” with Robert Siegel. This broadcast was well received nationally, resulting in 4,700 hits on the Anderson & Anderson website in only one day. Additionally, the five weeks following this broadcast generated over 40,000 hits on our site.

On December 3, 2004, George Anderson taped a segment of “Starting Over,” a daytime reality television show aired on NBC. An assessment was given to five women who are the main participants in this series, and anger management was provided to one of these five women. The Conover Assessment Component, which is newly featured on our website, was used for this assessment. The Anderson & Anderson anger management model was used for the intervention portion. This hour long segment will be shown on national television sometime in January. We will announce the date, time and stations on our website.

In November, the Texas Commission on Juvenile Probation approved the Anderson & Anderson model of anger management intervention for the training of Juvenile Probation staff in Texas. It is likely that Adult Probation will also approve this training for its professional staff.

Due to this widespread exposure, many of the recent calls and e-mails we have received have been from people who want to be providers, as well as providers who are looking to have a recognized organization to give anger management providers a voice and an official representation on a local and national level.

In response to these requests, Anderson & Anderson have decided to assist in forming such an organization. The following partial list of anger management providers from various orientations and disciplines have agreed to take an active role in this endeavor. They are: Dr. Robert Evans, Florida, Leonard Ingram, MA, Chicago, Pastor Robert Evans, DD, Texas, Tiane Fox, Kansas, Ellen Brokos, M.A., New York, Frank Morales, M.A, Alabama, Alfred Cruz, Guam, Newton Hightower, MSW, Texas, Dr. Charles Canady, Dr. Tony Fiore, California and Jana Williamson, B.A, Arkansas.

Initially, volunteers will serve as national and local office holders. I, George Anderson, will not hold an office position, but rather will assist in providing clerical support and membership marketing.

I strongly urge all of you who have an interest in anger management to become a part of this organization.

Benefits

Membership Form

Emotional intelligence has become one of the hottest buzzwords in the business world. When Harvard Business Review published an article on the topic a few years ago, it attracted a higher percentage of readers than any other article published in that periodical in the last 40 years.

Emotional intelligence is the capacity to appropriately respond to emotional stimuli in a way which leads to positive outcomes in yourself and others. (EQ) is a learned ability to identity, experience, understand, and express human emotions in healthy and productive ways. It is a relatively new concept which was popularized in 1995 by Dr. Daniel Goleman in two books;
“Emotional intelligence” and “Emotional intelligence at work”.

My own interest in emotional intelligence began about 7 years ago. At that time, I was conducting research for a curriculum for anger management classes. Previous anger management models tended to focus on what happens to the body and mind when a person is under stress or anger. Emotional intelligence provided an intervention with a different set of skills which includes managing anger, stress, improving communication and emotional intelligence. It is now a key component in the Anderson & Anderson model of anger management intervention.

In contrast to IQ, which is the ability to manipulate objects and master precision learning, emotional intelligence can be changed, improved at any stage of life. In contrast, IQ remains stable over time and does not predict success in life or relationships.
Research by Goleman and others have shown that success in life and work is not determined by IQ but rather by emotional intelligence (EQ). The brightest students do not necessarily become the most successful. The emotionally intelligent person is the one who is aware of his own feelings, moods, assets and limitations and is sensitive, empathic and compassionate to others. He or she has the capacity to actively listen to others, give feedback and positively influence others that lead to win win situations.

By improving your emotional intelligence you will be better able to positively influence both your overall performance and well-being, and get incredible results from your work and life. A growing body of research suggests that emotional intelligence is a better predictor of success that the more traditional measures. In fact, EQ may be the single most important factor in predicting success.

There is now a considerable body of research suggesting that a person’s ability to perceive, identify, and manage their emotions provides the basis for the kinds of social and emotional competencies that are important for success in almost any job.
This research indicated that only 20% of your success is contributed by your IQ. With 36% attributable to your emotional intelligence. At least 90% of the difference between outstanding and average leaders is related to emotional intelligence and explains why some people excel while others of the same caliber lag behind. It has been clearly established that emotional intelligence is linked to important work-related outcomes such as individual performance and organizational productivity.
Emotional intelligence matters most in times of change. It is a measure of your ability to recognize and manage your own feelings and those of other people (staff, colleagues and customers) to produce results and traditional management skills. It is equally important when selecting the next generation of leaders.

The skills taught in an emotional intelligence coaching or classes may include some, all or some of the following: self-esteem, interpersonal assertion, interpersonal awareness, empathy, commitment, motivation, decision making, time management, leadership, stress management, and anger management.

How do issues like substance abuse, anger management and violence relate? They are the result of unresolved conflicts relating to personal growth and a lack of knowledge about the process of making positive personal changes. Self-defeating and destructive living patterns are the result of learned behavior, any behavior which is learned can be unlearned.

When you work with other people, your relationship with them can really matter. Using emotional intelligence at work is all about getting the most out of these relationships in ways that benefit everyone. Whenever you need to work with other people to deliver business outcomes, having the skills to work effectively with them will help you create a better solution and stronger relationships.
When you learn to recognize other’s emotions, you immediately begin to have greater empathy with them and to better connect with them. This gives you an advantage when working in a team.

Sometimes we respond to situations and people in ways that we may regret. It’s harder to rebuild bridges than it is to establish them. Using emotional intelligence allows you to develop strategies to respond to others comments, incidents and events that would normally push your emotional buttons.

It’s never easy to deal with conflict, but when you are aware of what drives conflict, you will be able to not just cope with the situation, but be able to diffuse the emotions that always accompanies conflict. When you know your own skills and abilities, you can focus on developing in areas that will benefit you most.

Here are some of the skills that can be developed through emotional intelligence:
Emotional competency: constitutes the capacity to tactfully respond to emotional stimuli elicited by various situations, having high self-esteem and optimism, communication, tackling emotional upsets such as frustration, conflicts, inferiority complexes, enjoying emotions, doings what succeeds, ability to relate to others.
Emotional maturity: constitutes evaluating your own emotions and those of others. The capacity to identity and express feelings. The ability to balance the state of your heart and mind. Being adaptable and flexible, appreciating other’s point of view, developing others, and delaying gratification of immediate psychological satisfaction.
Emotional sensitivity: constitutes understanding the threshold of emotional arousal, managing the immediate environment, maintain rapport, harmony and comfort with others, letting others feel comfortable in your company while you feel comfortable in your own skin, empathy.
Customer service: learning how to help your customers feel heard, understood, helped, served, respected, valued and important.
Hiring: Selecting employees with relatively high emotional intelligence, emotionally sensitive, aware, optimistic, resilient, positive, and responsible.
Turnover: Enabling turnover, reduction trough helping employees feel appreciated, recognized, supported challenged, rewarded and respected.
Training: Raising emotional intelligence at all levels of the business through emotional literacy and emotional intelligence workshops.
Corporate culture: Creating an environment where employees feel safe, trusted, special, needed, included, important, cooperative, focused, productive, motivated, respected and valued.
Productivity: Developing intrinsic motivation. Increasing employee commitment, cooperation and cohesion. Reducing lost timer spent on conflict, turf-battles, defensiveness and insecurity.
Goal setting: Setting goals based on feelings. For example, stating the goal that we want customers to feel satisfied, appreciated, and setting similar goals for employees, and then getting feedback on feeling an measuring and tracking performance,
Leadership: A leader with high emotional intelligence is emotionally aware. This means that he or she is aware of his own feelings and is not limited to logic, intellect and reasons when making decisions and managing people.

The Anderson & Anderson anger management model includes emotional as one of its key components. For information about our training classes, please contact us at 310-207-3591.

By
George Anderson

Violent acts against computers have become such a problem psychologists have termed this digital vandalism as "network rage." Eighty-three per cent of network managers surveyed reported abusive and often violent behavior by users as a result of computer problems. Acts of violence resulted in shattered monitors, smashed keyboards and kicked-in hard drives. Sometimes the PC GBH was so badly damaged, it was impossible to make out the identity of mouses that had been flung across a room -- their plastic shells dashed against walls and shattered into tiny fragments. "When people are under a lot of stress from supervisors and managers to meet tight deadlines, they can become frustrated and lose control of their temper," said Boston-based psychologist Dr Will Calmas. "Instead of voicing their frustrations to their supervisors, some people choose to take out their aggression on inanimate objects -- in this case, their monitor, keyboard or mouse." According to the survey conducted by Concord Communications, the number one piece of equipment broken during an act of network rage is the keyboard. Broken mouse and shattered monitors tied for second place and kicked-in hard drives placed third. One network manager who asked to remain anonymous said: "I had a user who complained that her cursor would not move, so she would repeatedly slap the terminal on one side to move it." And another told of how one irate woman was close to breaking point after being unable to send any e-mail. "After I calmed her down, I asked to see a sample of an email message she was trying to send. The email address included street name, town, county and full postal code."
If you or an employee, family member or friend has any symptoms of network rage, contact one of the providers on our Certified Anger Management provider list.

“This movie will have a major impact on increasing the comfort level of people enrolling in anger management classes, ” says George Anderson, BCD, technical consultant on the feature film, “Anger Management.” Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson are starring in the feature film scheduled to be released on April 11, 2003.

“Despite the movie being a comedy, it will help people to look at their own issues with anger,” says Anderson, an Anger Management expert who has taught thousands of people how to channel their raw emotions. The Anderson and Anderson anger management model is the only one of it’s kind approved by the California Board of Corrections to train probation, parole, and correctional officers.

Sony Pictures made concentrated efforts to make sure the anger management sessions in the movie were authentic. Anderson’s workbook, “How to Manage Anger: Gaining Control of Ourselves” is featured in the film, and Jack Nicholson, whose character facilitates anger management sessions, studied tapes on how Anderson conducts his classes. “I was honored to have Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler using my model,” says Anderson. “Both actors are favorites of mine.”

The Anger Management consultant has seen an increase in clients seeking help after the terrorist attacks of September 11th due to fear and stress. Anderson teaches his clients that anger is a secondary emotion and helps them become aware of the symptoms. “There is always something else that comes before anger,” he says. “It’s often frustration, depression, anxiety, fear, and stress that comes first. Anger is one of the most misunderstood and overused of human emotions. It’s a reaction to an inner emotion and not a planned action.”

Anderson should know. He’s had plenty of experience studying people’ emotions as a licensed clinical social worker with extensive training and experience in the treatment of children and adolescents. Anderson received his postgraduate training in child and adolescent psychotherapy at Harvard University. He has served as a mental health consultant for numerous organizations including the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, Kaiser Permanente, Los Angeles City Schools, and the Center for Training in Community Psychiatry. Anderson has also taught at UCLA, both in the Department of Psychiatry and the School of Social Welfare.

“All forms of violence including road rage, desk rage, spousal abuse, child abuse, animal abuse, and elder abuse have reached epidemic proportions in the United States,” says Anderson, who teaches acceptable ways of expressing anger. “When we become more conscious of the patterns we exhibit, then we can replace them with appropriate behaviors that move us closer to our real goals in life.”

For More Information, contact: Janet Alston Jackson (310) 207-3591.

George Anderson

Anger management is increasingly becoming one of the most sought after interventions worldwide. Anderson & Anderson receive requests daily from Human Resource Managers, Organizational Development Specialists, Employee Assistance Professionals as well as University Dean of Students requesting referral resources for their client populations.

As cut backs and downsizing occur in an environment of terrorist fears, employees, faculties and students are responding with fear, anxiety, depression and anger. These feelings often lead to tension in the workplace, home or educational environment. For businesses, the concern over workplace violence, sick day usage, work performance, liability, and productivity has caused a heightened sensitivity of the need to seek solutions. Voluntary and mandatory anger management as well as executive coaching is rapidly becoming the intervention of choice.

In colleges and Universities, there is an increase in tensions between students and faculty, faculty and faculty as well as between students. Traditional counseling and psychotherapy is expensive, time consuming and ineffective. Since anger is not a psychiatric disorder, psychotherapy is inappropriate and has simply not worked.
Consequently, major universities are routinely making referrals to Anderson & Anderson providers nationwide.

Another major source of request for training and material is the Criminal Justice system. Probation departments, courts, jails and prisons are using anger management to teach skills in managing aggression and violence. The Canadian Bureau of Prisons has demonstrated in fifteen years of study that incarcerated defendants who are taught how to manage stress and anger using a cognitive behavior approach with client workbook show an 83% success rate. These skills are maintained when defendants are returned to their home communities. This longitudinal study reinforces the effectiveness of anger management.

The California State Board of Corrections has approved the Anderson & Anderson curricula, training and client workbooks for use in jails, prisons as well as parole and probation departments in California. Arizona, Kansas and Nevada have also adopted this curriculum for use in its Corrections Departments.

Be Oltra, Next Generation is the Anderson & Anderson affiliate in Italy. Be Oltra is working to provide Italian language dubbing for the Sony movie, Anger Management. In addition, they are offering anger management to Universities, prisons and businesses in Italy with considerable success.

Anger Management providers who are trained in the Anderson & Anderson model and actually use the client workbooks can reasonably expect to receive referrals. Our internet marketing and domination of the anger management field provides credibility and branding to our providers.

Currently, we are negotiating with a major Canadian based ITT Corporation with affiliates in 52 countries. This organization is interested in providing the Anderson & Anderson model of intervention to its client companies worldwide. Naturally this will further enhance the number referrals for all of our providers. With our increasing prominence, it is necessary for us to make certain that providers on our list are actually presenting our model as designed. Beginning, in July, we will begin contacting each provider who has not recently purchased our client workbooks. Providers who are not using our workbooks will be removed from our provider list. This is necessary to protect the credibility of this model.