办公室易怒为何愈演愈烈

2017-05-02ByAlisonBirrane

英语学习 2017年4期

By+Alison+Birrane

The people you work with are driving you nuts and youd love nothing more than to scream at them at the top of your lungs.1

Sure， youd feel so much better venting your rage， but overt anger remains a taboo at the office.2 In some cases， it could get you fired. Most of us instead keep a tight lid on3 our fury.

Still， “office rage” is real and a growing concern， according to experts. “Its a sort of jokey title， but…everyone knows what youre talking about，” says Lucy Beresford， a psychotherapist and relationship expert.4

Office life is increasingly frustrating and many workers feel powerless with little control， her research found. 83% of us have seen a colleague lose their temper at work and 63% of us have lost our temper， according to her study. Other studies show similar statistics.

Among the worst office irritants： computer crashes， uncooperative printers， annoying， lazy colleagues and inconsiderate bosses.5 Unsurprisingly， receiving after-hours6 work emails had a similar effect according to a 2015 study from the University of Texas at Arlington.

But there might be a better solution to bottling up the boiling waters， one that lets off steam and keeps you employed.7 Enter rage rooms， a trend for a safe space where you can unleash8 your full anger—sometimes with the help of a baseball bat. Here， the stressed-out pay to smash items of their choosing and leave someone else to clean up the wreckage.9

“Were giving people permission to get angry in a safe environment，” says Ed Hunter， founder of The Break Room， which opened in Melbourne， Australia. “Its a fairly natural rebellion10.” Work stress is a growing concern for both employers and employees according to a report by health insurer11 Medibank Private. Work-related stress costs Australian business AUD$10 billion a year， according to a 2013 report by independent body Safe Work Australia12.

“Were always told not to break things， to control anger， to be well-behaved，” says Stephen Shew， co-founder Battle Sports in Toronto， Canada. “Or， ‘if you break things you have to buy them. But in the rage room， they can do just that and not get in trouble.”

Battle Sports discovered that office equipment draws particular ire13. Trashing14 it as part of the “Office Space”package， which costs $35， is popular.

“People love to smash printers. We go through15 more than 15 printers a week，” says Shew. Its the quintessential representation of an office environment， he says， and destroying one is quite satisfying—think printer demolition in the 1999 comedy Office Space.16

Others catching on to the destruction trend include the Rage Room in Budapest and several businesses in the US such as the Anger Room in Dallas， Texas； Tantrums LLC in Houston， Texas； and the Smash Shack in Jacksonville，17 North Carolina. Customers must typically sign a disclaimer and don protective gear such as a face mask， overalls and work gloves to get smashing.18

Packages typically cost between $20 and $100 for sessions lasting 10 to 45 minutes. Some clients book a longer session so they have time to arrange their chosen items in a particular order， build them into a pyramid or pause for selfies，19 says Shew.

So is this kind of aggression really an effective salve20 for stress？ Well， no.

Rage isnt the best way to deal with your anger， says professor Brad J Bushman of The Ohio State University， by email. Bushman published a study in 2002 that showed Catharsis theory—acting aggressively or viewing aggression is an effective way to purge anger21—just doesnt work. Indeed， doing nothing at all was more effective.

“It is like using gasoline22 to put out a flame. It just feeds the flame. Angry people are highly aroused23 （heart rate， blood pressure）， and venting keeps arousal levels high. It also keeps aggressive thoughts active in memory and even strengthens them if people ruminate24 about what made them angry，” Bushman says. “It also keeps angry feelings alive as people relive them.”

Bushman suggests instead using delay tactics to let the anger dissipate， distracting yourself or doing something incompatible with anger such as watching a （non-violent） funny movie.25

Of course， rage room customers prefer the more smashing approach to trying to resolve workplace anger， jilted love， heartbreak and mire.26

Shew says theres a broad customer base when it comes to Battle Sports Rage Room， starting with people as young as 19 years old right up to those over 50. Women make up about 60% of rage room partakers27.

Dont get angry： The emotion people have the most difficulty controlling is anger. But with the fuel obtained from healthy foods， the brain is better able to control it.

“The rage room is not a cure-all28 for your anger，” warns Shew. “We always tell people that were not therapists and were not doctors. Were not saying were going to control your anger. Neither are we saying its fool proof.” Instead， he says， rage rooms are simply an alternative29 for dealing with stress.

1. drive sb. nuts：使某人发狂；at the top of ones lungs：用最大的聲音（喊叫）。

2. vent：发泄；overt：明显的；taboo：禁忌。

3. keep a tight lid on：盖紧盖子，此处指压抑怒火。

4. jokey：滑稽的；psychotherapist：心理治疗师。

5. irritant：刺激物；computer crash：电脑死机；inconsiderate：不考虑别人的，不体谅人的。

6. after-hours：办公时间以外的，业余时间的。

7. 但是可能有一个更好的办法能克制住你的怒火，既能释放情绪，又不会使你被解雇。bottle up the boiling water：字面义为装起沸水，引申为克制住怒火；let off steam：字面义为排出蒸汽，引申为宣泄情绪，缓解压力。

8. unleash：释放。

9. the stressed-out：压力过重的人；smash：猛击；wreckage：（车辆或建筑物遭损毁后的）残骸，这里指被毁的物品。

10. rebellion：反抗，反叛。

11. insurer：保险公司，承保人。

12. Safe Work Australia：澳大利亚安全工作署。