Icebergs are deceiving because what you see on the surface is usually only a small fraction of what lies below.

Anger is exactly like an iceberg – it is easy to observe on the surface, but it has so many other hidden emotions below the surface.

Bad vibes in the workplace are not only detrimental to staff morale and productivity they can also have a negative effect on your health and wellbeing, not to mention your career prospects. Every way you look at it, it is a good idea to learn to control your anger at work.

Article as it appeared in Khuluma - Kulula's in-flight magazine, which can also be found online. By Katherine Graham

You can read the article here on page 127: http://www.khulumaonline.co.za/mags/2016_09_september/index.html#/128

Many people think of anger as a purely ‘negative’ emotion – an emotion that we should not actually allow ourselves to feel. But anger is, in fact, just an emotion - one of a whole range of emotions that we must allow ourselves to feel if we want to experience a rich mental and emotional life.

“Spare the rod, spoil the child” and “No hiding equals no discipline” are familiar adages that offer advice with biblical roots - but are no longer treated as gospel. Indeed, there is no hiding from the fact that research proves corporal punishment is not the most effective method of instilling discipline in children. There are two highly effective alternatives to punishment – positive and negative reinforcement.

Learning to identify the different communication styles - and recognising which one we use most often in our daily interactions with friends, family and colleagues - is essential if we want to develop effective, assertive communication skills. But how can we tell the difference between the styles, and is there a time and place for each one in certain situations?