Patricia Kitchen at Newsday writes about a new phenomenon known as “desk rage.”  Rising stress can lead to nervous tics and habits, often with the offender unaware, says Zachary Meyer, senior vice president with Ceridian LifeWorks, a Minneapolis-based employee assistance program provider.

At a conference three weeks ago in Florida, his company asked 3,000 clients to share some of what they've seen as stress-induced behaviors. Their findings included loud and frequent pen clicking, serial gum snapping, making sniffing and snorting sounds, loud keyboard tapping, yelling out the time every hour as a deadline approaches. People's stress and worries spill into the work world, says Meyer, who admits that under pressure he's become a "keyboard assaultist."

Such behaviors may be annoying or even infuriating to employees trying to focus on the job at hand, but what does Kitchen say you should do about it?  John Putzier, a human resources consultant and author of Weirdos in the Workplace, says that before lodging a complaint, it's wise to do a litmus test to determine if the behavior is just a little eccentric -- or if it actually impedes work. The latter could include a whole row of people being distracted, even becoming nauseated, when a neighbor brings out a stinky lunch.

If the offense is at the less embarrassing end of the scale, you can, in a good humored way, let the person know that you're finding it hard to concentrate. If it's at the other of the scale, however, Putzier suggests you take the issue to the boss, who might kick it over to human resources. You may even be tempted to leave an anonymous note, but Meyer warns against that. "That creates another kind of stress called paranoia," he says.

Do you experience “desk rage” or other visible signs of stress?  Pay attention to what you’re doing.  Others obviously are!