Getting angry at work might actually help people move up the career ladder, new research suggests. After following 824 people over 44 years, Harvard Medical School researchers found those who repressed feelings of rage were three times more likely to say they’d hit a glass ceiling. “Negative emotions are often crucial for survival,” lead author George Vaillant told the BBC. “Careful experiments such as ours have documented that negative emotions narrow and focus attention so we can concentrate on the trees instead of the forest.” Uncontrolled anger, however, can be destructive. “We all feel anger, but individuals who learn how to express their anger while avoiding the explosive and self-destructive consequences of unbridled fury have achieved something incredibly powerful in terms of overall emotional growth and mental health,” he added. “If we can define and harness those skills, we can use them to achieve great things.”
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