When a Manager Loses Their Temper, the Company May Break the Law: Three Lines of Defense Against Workplace Bullying, Seen Through Cain’s Anger

The most dangerous emotion in the workplace is often not employee dissatisfaction, but the loss of control by a manager who holds authority over performance evaluations, promotions, transfers, and dismissals.

The Book of Genesis records that Cain became jealous, frustrated, and angry because God accepted the offering of his younger brother Abel but did not accept his own. God did not condemn Cain merely for experiencing anger. Instead, He immediately warned him:

“Sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

How should we understand the psychological mechanism of anger?

We commonly classify anger as a negative emotion. Yet if anger were entirely harmful, why would the human body have preserved it as part of our basic physiological system? The answer is that anger evolved as a survival mechanism and a form of emotional protection. Although it is often described as a “negative emotion,” it actually serves an important function.

In ancient times, anger was essential to survival. When our ancestors encountered threats—such as an attack by a wild animal or the loss of vital resources including food, water, or shelter—the brain’s amygdala would immediately sound the alarm and activate the “fight or flight” response.

This mechanism rapidly supplies the body with energy. Adrenaline rises, the heartbeat accelerates, and the muscles tighten, preparing the person either to fight the threat or escape from it.

In twenty-first-century life, common triggers of anger are usually experiences of unfairness, threat, attack, or helplessness. A person may be passed over for promotion while a peer becomes a manager, become trapped in traffic when already late for work, or lose an important presentation because the computer suddenly crashes. When people are unable to change the situation, accumulated frustration may erupt into anger.

It may therefore be helpful to view anger as a red warning light on a car’s dashboard. The light is not there to cause trouble. It is there to tell you:

“Something important is wrong. You need to address it or protect yourself immediately.”

Anger itself is not necessarily unlawful. However, when a manager converts anger into public humiliation, deliberate exclusion, excessive work assignments, unfair performance evaluations, or retaliatory transfers, a personal temper problem may develop into workplace bullying. The company may then face civil liability, administrative penalties, and serious reputational damage.

For labor-law compliance training, accredited continuing education for board members, appointments as external committee members in workplace bullying and sexual harassment investigations, and representation in litigation or mediation proceedings, please contact YesinLaw at +886-2-2515-6822 or visit https://www.yesinlaw.com.

Attorney Chen Yeh-Hsin offers the following recommendations.

1. Identify the Jealousy and Sense of Threat Behind the Anger

On the surface, a manager may become angry because an employee submitted a poor report, arrived late to a meeting, or failed to meet a sales target. The true trigger, however, may be that the manager feels their authority has been challenged, their competence has been questioned, or a subordinate may outperform them.

This was the starting point of Cain’s tragedy. He failed to confront his own jealousy and insecurity. Instead, he treated his brother Abel as a threat that had to be eliminated.

Companies should therefore incorporate emotional self-awareness into management training. Before reprimanding an employee, a manager should first ask:

“Am I addressing a work-related problem, or am I defending my pride?”

When a manager cannot distinguish performance management from emotional venting, managerial authority can easily become a vehicle for abuse of power.

2. Build a Procedural Firewall Between Emotion and Management Action

Managers may require employees to improve their performance, but they may not humiliate, isolate, or punish employees merely because they are angry.

Lawful performance management should be based on clear standards, objective evidence, a reasonable improvement period, and consistently applied procedures. Unlawful or high-risk management, by contrast, often involves sudden additional demands, public scolding, repeated personal rejection, deliberate obstruction, or threats of dismissal.

Companies should therefore do more than simply tell managers to “control their temper.” They should establish formal reporting and complaint channels for unlawful workplace conduct, including workplace bullying, and provide consultation mechanisms for managers.

When a manager’s emotions begin to escalate, the manager should step away from the situation. Important decisions should be postponed. A single statement made in anger can become an adverse employment action—and later serve as decisive evidence in labor litigation.

3. Do Not Suppress Anger; Convert It into a Manageable Organizational Signal

Anger is like a red warning light on a car’s dashboard. It may indicate insufficient resources, unclear responsibilities, unequal workloads, or failed communication within the organization. When the warning light comes on, the correct response is to stop and inspect the problem—not to press harder on the accelerator.

A mature manager should replace:

“How can you be so useless?”

with:

“What gaps currently exist between the expected standard and the actual result?”

The manager should replace:

“If you make this mistake again, you’re fired.”

with:

“We need to confirm the improvement objectives, the applicable deadline, and what resources and assistance the company and your manager can provide.”

The first type of statement is a personal attack that denies the employee’s dignity. The second addresses actual work performance and supports improvement.

Companies should also provide employee assistance programs and management consultation channels so that emotions have a lawful and constructive outlet. Managers should not be permitted to transfer family stress, promotion anxiety, or peer competition onto their subordinates.

Attorney Chen Yeh-Hsin’s Reminder

Cain’s problem was not that he became angry. His problem was that he refused to confront his jealousy, allowed anger to occupy his mind, and ultimately surrendered control of his actions to his emotions.

For companies, a manager’s temper is never merely a matter of personal character. It is an issue of corporate governance, labor-law compliance, and organizational risk management.

The question that business owners and HR leaders should ask is not merely whether the company has established a workplace bullying complaint mechanism, but whether the organization has sufficient systems and channels to defuse anger and control the risk of unlawful workplace conduct before harm occurs.