Long and pointless meetings are the principal cause of anger in European offices, according to new research into 'office rage' by digital imaging company Canon.

The poll also found that ill manners and office politics are most likely to frustrate workers in the UK and Ireland.

Some 68 per cent of respondents cited 'being spoken down to' as the most common cause of work related stress in the office, followed by 'office politics' cited by 58 per cent.

As many as eight in 10 office workers in the UK and Ireland have witnessed acts of 'visible anger' when colleagues have let their frustration get the better of them.

It seems that the Italians are the worst, however, as 94 per cent of respondents claimed that displays of anger are 'commonplace' in the office.

The main reason for UK and Ireland workers to lose their temper was 'being spoken down to by a boss or colleague' (61 per cent), but PC downtime (24 per cent) and people leaving paper jams in printers for others to fix (24 per cent) also scored highly.

The UK's most angry offices appear to be Cardiff, where 69 per cent admitted to outbursts in the office, followed by Belfast and Birmingham both at 56 per cent.

Workers in Dundee, Brighton and Newcastle are the calmest and least prone to temper tantrums.

Nearly 20 per cent of UK workers admitted to kicking or breaking office equipment when it fails to work, with the desk, stapler, phone, keyboard and printer most often in the firing line for acts of retribution.

"For people to feel less stressed in the office, they need to feel more in control of their working life and working environment," said Lucy Beresford, a psychotherapist and occupational stress expert.

"When this control is lost through external events such as a rude boss, sitting in a pointless meeting or a printer jam that no one wants to fix, it doesn't take much for the average office worker to snap.

"There is no doubt that office rage is on the increase, but a range of initiatives such as crisper meetings or interpersonal kindness could reduce stress levels and even extend the life expectancy of office equipment."

Beresford recommended several tips for helping to reduce office rage, including cutting the length and frequency of meetings and ensuring a specific agenda.

She also mentioned taking to colleagues and bosses about frustrations in the workplace, and not being rude or getting involved in office politics.

Beresford urged everyone to take time to relax during the working day, as well as making sure that they take a proper lunch break and get enough sleep at night.