The purpose of this phenomenographic study was to examine the different ways in which a group of research assistants who varied by university, department and gender understand the anger they feel towards the faculty members with whom they interact. Phenomenographic analysis was conducted on data obtained through face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with 15 research assistants at two state universities in Turkey. The analysis revealed that the participants understood the anger at issue in six different ways: (1) 'an emotion one feels when exposed to an injustice', (2) 'an emotion that diminishes work performance', (3) 'an emotion that should be kept under control', (4) 'an emotion that causes discomfort', (5) 'an emotion that pushes one to look for a solution' and (6) 'an emotion for which one develops resilience as one gains work experience'. Implications for future research and practise were also discussed based on the findings.