It seemed inevitable that the trend of tagging situational anger with “rage” would one day make its way into the office. We're already familiar with “road rage” and “air rage,” and there's also “computer rage,” which is self-explanatory, and “wrap rage,” a term used to describe the anger and frustration born of complex product packaging.

Now add one more to the list: desk rage.

A recent Reuters report introduced the term, describing it simply as anger in the workplace. This isn't a new phenomenon, but now we have a term for it.

"It runs the gamut from just rudeness up to pretty extreme abusive behaviors," Paul Spector, a professor of industrial and organizational psychology at the University of South Florida, told Reuters. "The severe cases of fatal violence get a lot of press but in some ways this is more insidious because it affects millions of people."

Spector's research into desk rage found that “2 percent to 3 percent of people admit to pushing, slapping or hitting someone at work.” He also notes that “desk rage extends across industry and class lines, from top white-collar jobs to gritty blue-collar work, and companies pay dearly in terms of lost productivity, sagging morale and higher absenteeism…”

The Reuters piece offered some additional workplace anger statistics:

Nearly half of U.S. workers in America report yelling and verbal abuse on the job, with roughly a quarter saying it has driven them to tears, research has shown.

Other research showed one-sixth of workers reported anger at work has led to property damage, while a tenth reported physical violence and fear their workplace might not be safe.

"It's a total disaster," said Anna Maravelas, author of "How to Reduce Workplace Conflict and Stress." "Rudeness, impatience, people being angry -- we used to do that kind of stuff at home but at work, we were professional. Now it's almost becoming trendy to do it at work.

"It was something we did behind closed doors," she said. "Now people are losing their sense of embarrassment over it."

If you believe one expert, it appears that road rage could play a role in desk rage.

"People are coming to work after a long commute, sitting in traffic watching their discretionary income burn up. They're ready for a fight or just really upset," said John Challenger, the head of workplace consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

By the time people make it to work, they are already filled with the stress from everyday life. And that contributes to desk rage, according to Challenger.

This isn't surprising information. The question is whether giving workplace anger a catchy name is going to help motivate people to address the issue, rather than offer an excuse for their behaviour.