Stress, depression, high staff turnover and lost productivity are all potential consequences of employers failing to tackle conflict at work, according to an expert in anger management.

In a survey of individuals who attended courses with the British Association of Anger Management (BAAM), 81 per cent said their employer did nothing to help them with their anger.

Julian Hall, clinic director at Beating Anger Derby, warns that anger in the workplace is already hurting businesses’ bottom line, but believes it will also soon become a health and safety issue.

Figures released by the HSE reveal that, out of 33 million days lost to illness, 13.4 million were attributable to stress, anxiety or depression. The number of people suffering work-related stress has also doubled in the last 10 years.

Said Hall: “Because there are certain expectations of how you behave at work, and angry is not one of them, this leads to passive-aggressive workplaces. This is where everyone pretends to get along but, behind the scenes, there is back-stabbing, undermining behaviours, and lost productivity.”

Hall believes companies that get to grips with workplace conflict will see an immediate rise in profits. He said: “This is not touchy-feely, tree-hugging attitudes towards work; this is hard economics. Treat your teams with respect and they pay you back many times over.”