I know you hate your asshole boss, the one who is always yelling at you and making snide remarks. I hate him too. But guess what, he's actually making you work harder and work smarter. At least that's what science says.

A new study in the Journal of Applied Psychology shows that people who were exposed to anger and sarcasm worked harder and smarter than people in a neutral environment. The test was done with engineering students who all listened to an interaction between a customer and a customer service rep. Those who listened to the calls where the customer was angry ended up working harder and faster on a subsequent problem than their peers who listened to a nice call. Those who listened to a sarcastic interaction worked as hard and quickly as those exposed to anger, but also had more accurate and creative results.

So, next time your boss asks you a snide question, respond, "Yeah, I did think it was the stupidest idea on earth. That's why I did it!" When he gets pissed, tell him you're trying to improve creativity. You get to vent and look like a team player. Win-win, people!