Course Outcomes

This communication skills course for dealing with anger and frustration in the workplace will:

  • Explain how anger and frustration can manifest themselves in the workplace.
  • Outline how to recognize triggers and react to them before they take control.
  • Describe healthy techniques for handling frustration and anger.
  • Suggest a plan for continuous self-development.

Course Overview.

Although most people don’t turn green and roar like the Incredible Hulk when they become angry, the damage they can do to themselves, their coworkers, and customers can have long-lasting effects. This workshop is designed for people employed in high-pressure environments. The program addresses why and how anger can happen and the wide range of reactions people can have to the same incident. The course also discusses how anger can influence and alter perception, physical and mental methods for coping with frustration, and tips for changing habits over time.

Program Objectives

At this program’s conclusion, participants should be able to:

  • Describe the frustration continuum.
  • Identify how workplace frustration and anger influence their bodies, minds, and behaviors.
  • Recognize and react to anger and frustration triggers before they take over.
  • Explain the difference between healthy and unhealthy reactions to anger.
  • Practice physical, mental, and verbal techniques for managing workplace frustration.
  • Use the five-step method to break old patterns and replace them with healthier alternatives.
  • Control their emotions when faced with other people’s anger.

The following outline highlights some of the course’s key learning points. As part of your training program, we will modify content as needed to meet your business objectives. Upon request, we will provide you with a copy of the participant materials prior to the session(s).

Workshop Outline

The Anatomy of Anger and Frustration: Let’s Take a Look

This program begins with an exploration of frustration anger: what they look like, why they happen, their short- and long-term effects, how they can evolve over time, and the signs that appear when those common emotions are out of control in the workplace.

Know Your Triggers: Understanding What Sets You Off

People who yell, people who can’t accept “no” for an answer, people who don’t follow through – whatever the trigger, or in some cases triggers, if they aren’t recognized and managed, overwhelming frustration, anger, or even full-on rage can quickly follow. In this part of the workshop, we’ll talk about triggers, how to recognize them, and what to do to gain control before frustration and anger take over.

You’re Not Thinking Clearly: How Anger Affects Your Perceptions

“He was so angry, he couldn’t see straight.” “She saw red.” Whether it’s crossed eyes or a crimson curtain, one thing is certain, anger clouds perceptions. During this part of the course, we’ll examine four ways anger and frustration can influence how we see the world: issue magnification, destructive labeling, inflexible thinking, and assumptions about how others perceive information.

Healthy Coping: Making Smart Choices

Holding it in, taking it out on others, drinking the day’s problems away after quitting time – those options may work in the moment, but in the long run, they do more harm than good. During this course segment, we’ll explore healthy and not-so-healthy physical coping mechanisms for dealing with workplace anger and frustration.

Keep Your Head: Harnessing the Power of Self Talk and Other Tools

As the old lesson goes, you can’t always control what happens to you, but you can control how you react to what comes your way. In this part of the program, we will examine self-talk, perspective setting, conversation framing, and other techniques for managing emotions in a high-stress environment.

Do Not Follow: Avoiding Getting Sucked In

Like misery, anger sometimes looks for company.  In this seminar segment, we will talk about managing reactions to other people’s anger and ways to avoid getting sucked into a sea of negativity and frustration.

Step-by-Step: Self Checks

As with all behavioral changes, the ability to manage frustration and anger isn’t an instant process.  It takes time to change patterns and implement new methods. In this final part of the workshop, we’ll talk about goal setting and methods for improving skills after the session.

By the conclusion of this course, participants should have an understanding of healthy and unhealthy reactions to anger and how they can leverage physical and mental strategies for dealing with frustration in the workplace.