It pays to get angry at work. That's right, expressing anger leads to perceptions of capability. In fact, an experiment conducted at Stanford Graduate School of Business found that the angrier the person, the more likely the manager would promote them.
What happened to the idea of catching more flies with honey than vinegar? Well, according to this study conducted by assistant professor Larissa Tiedens, anger can be useful. It's a "very concise and powerful way to communicate when things are going wrong," says Tiedens. But rewarding anger with promotions could result in a lot of problems, she adds.
Anger also gets points in a job interview the study indicates. MBA students watched a video where applicants were asked to describe a negative event, such as an office presentation that went awry. One applicant exuded anger. Another applicant said he felt guilty and sad people had been let down. The students said they were equally willing to hire both applicants but gave the angry applicant a higher level and better paying job than the sad applicant.
They said the person expressing sadness or guilt was seen as likable and warm, but not seen as a leader. The angry one was seen as highly competent. Bottom line, says Tiedens, status isn't based on socio-emotional characteristics such as likeability, but on competence characteristics.
© by Andrea Kay
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