Firm warns of workplace anger

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CHICAGO, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas warned that U.S. companies could be packed with angry workers this Valentine's Day season.

"Now we're getting into a point in the economy where companies are going to start hiring soon," explained the firm's spokesman James Pedderson. "So now we're starting to get to a point where people are going to start looking for new situations if they're super unhappy."

In other words, the skimpy work crews the companies kept through the recession are apt to be talented and disgruntled.

They were kept on the payroll, because they were the most qualified or experienced workers.

"These are the employees the company thought worthy of keeping, so you don't want to lose them now," Pedderson said, The Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.

"It might be a stretch to call workplaces a 'powder keg,' but managers should be on the lookout for signs of worker hostility and be prepared to act," wrote Chief Executive John Challenger in an essay sent to media firms.

With Valentine's Day right around the corner, various studies indicate that 40 percent to 80 percent of workers endure insults at work, the Times said.

In a 2010 study conducted by the Workplace Bullying Institute, 35 percent of respondents indicated they were bullied at work.