What to do when coworkers start yelling in the office

What to do when coworkers start yelling in the officeWhat to do when coworkers start yelling in the officeThe sound of people yelling is biologically engineered to make us panic. More than any loud, disorienting sound, researchers have found that screaming human voices trigger fight-or-flight responses in our brains and make us feel scared.Thats why when someone you work with escalates a situation with yelling, it can feel alarming. What do you do? You may not be able to control your coworker or anfhrer temper tantrum, but you can control how you respond.Here are three tips on how to handle yelling in the officeDont yell backThe number one thing to do when yelling occurs is to not react with the same level of emotion and aggression. Yelling will only escalate the situation further and let it continue. If you hear yelling nearby, dont join in the screaming match. Your immediate goal should be to remove yourself from the situation.Recognize that nothing productive comes from yelling in the workplace. A 2012 study found that workers who dealt with verbally aggressive clients had a lower ability to recall the situation and understand the instructions.Understand why theyre yellingIts helpful to understand that when people yell, this emotional response is usually not about you. Its often a reaction to stress or pressure. Try not to take it personally. Instead, take a step back and understand why your colleague is yelling.Career coach Marie McIntyre told Monster that yelling often comes in three shapes in bosses. In the first type, the yeller is a highly emotional person who cannot control their impulses, and you may be able to ward off future meltdowns by recognizing triggers and proactively taking care of those small problems that tend to set the person off.In the second type of yeller, screaming is a gestalt of controlling others. For authoritarian figures, its how they manage the workplace with fear-based tactics. Asking many questions about whats setting these bo sses off can help these yellers know that youre working hard to resolve the problem.For the first two types of yellers, screaming is a form of discipline for the last category of yeller, its something they enjoy. This kind of yeller gets their kicks making people feel like dirt, according to Monster. Theres little that can be done there to stop them, the article states.Decide if it is worth addressingIs this a one-time flare-up or is this worker known for constantly losing their cool? If its the former, it may be best to dismiss the yelling as a one-off unfortunate response and get back to work. But if the yelling is impacting the ability to do your work, then you may want to address the situation directly by talking to the yeller or telling your manager or human resources about it.But what do you do if the screamer is your boss?Ask a Managers Alison Green is firm employees should leave if their boss is a chronic yeller because yelling creates an abusive work environment. In her U.S . News column, she advises employees with yelling bosses to first attempt to address the situation before escalating it to human resources.Green advises employees to tell the boss that, I really have trouble hearing your feedback when you yell at me. I definitely want constructive criticism, but its hard for me to take it in when youre yelling.In the long-run, people who are forced to deal with yelling at their workplaces are advised by experts to jump ship and find a calmer environment.