Workplace stress causes desk rage in 14% of workplaces, says study

Desk rage occurs in 14 percent of all American workplaces, according to a study of 506 American workers released today by Dr Rachelle Canter president of San Francisco career advisory firm RJC Associates and author of Make the Right Career Move: 28 Critical Insights and Strategies to Land Your Dream Job.

According to the study:

• 14% of American workers report incidents they would characterise as ‘desk rage’ occurring at their workplace
  
• 22% of American workers report having been driven to tears as a result of workplace stress
  
• 16% of American workers report that company property has been damaged as a result of workplace stress
  
• 9% of American workers report that physical violence has occurred at their workplace due to stress
  
• 10% of American workers report a fear that their workplace environments might not be safe.

Canter’s study, the most recent on desk rage, is the result of a random telephone survey conducted among a national probability sample of 506 employed adults 18 years and older living in private households in the US conducted last month.

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“According to the survey, the incidents of desk rage remain flat since 2000,” said Canter, “with 14% of American workplaces reporting incidents of desk rage in 2007, compared with 13% reporting desk rage incidents in 2000.”

Workplace shootings have taken place within the last week in the US both in suburban Detroit and in Atlanta, Georgia.