Blasted by a back-stabbing co-worker? Passed over for promotion by a boss who plays favorites? Humiliated at an important meeting?

Unfortunately, these are not uncommon occurrences in corporate America. Neither are the acts of revenge and counterstrikes inspired by such nastiness on the job (i.e., If you screw me, I will screw you;" or, "I will make you pay for that comment"). The payback cycle, experts say, can end up being a huge time sink for companies and result in lower productivity. Studies show, for example, that the work climate accounts for 20 to 30 percent of productivity.

"If people are spending a lot of time and energy playing the payback game, it absorbs energy and time from contributing to a company's bottom line," said Dr. Cal LeMon, president of Executive Enrichment, a management consulting firm in Springfield, Missouri.

A tit-for-tat corporate culture can also lead to the loss of great workers, said Dr. Everett Worthington, a psychology professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and Executive Director of the Campaign for Forgiveness Research.

Worthington has been studying more than 100 workers in Virginia and Washington, D.C., who were asked to recall incidents of workplace transgressions.

"(After) conflicts, they no longer liked coming to work," Worthington said. "They became sicker and missed more work days. In some cases, they even changed jobs."

Worthington and LeMon believe one way for a company to get on track to improved productivity is to create a culture of "corporate forgiveness."

Corporate forgiveness refers to forgiveness between a boss and subordinate or between workers. The main idea is for a company to create a work environment in which people feel more comfortable apologizing for their mistakes, and, perhaps more importantly, where people can get past each other's transgressions, stop holding grudges, and refocus on the job at hand.

Creating a culture of corporate forgiveness, however, can be a challenge for many companies, conceded LeMon, a former chaplain at Harvard University and now a frequent speaker on workplace topics. It's common in many organizations to subtly or even not-so-subtly reward and accept vengeance - workers are fired for blowing the whistle, for example, or passed over for promotions for disagreeing with a superior. But companies in which workers can forgive are better off in the long run - and increasing numbers of companies are beginning to recognize that.

In fact, forgiveness as a research topic has been getting more attention - not just in the workplace, but also in international politics, health and home life. Some companies are even hiring management consultants like LeMon or Worthington to conduct forgiveness training for individuals and groups. The workshops focus on forgiveness for serious transgressions, LeMon said: "It's not whether someone took your parking place today."

LeMon recommends assertiveness training for employees followed by the injured worker verbally confronting his or her transgressor. Sometimes the victim will get an apology, but many times not. The point, however, is to help the victim let go of their feelings of victimization, proceed professionally with the person who wronged them, and move on with work.

Worthington's solutions for promoting forgiveness include encouraging formerly feuding employees to work together on a joint task or project. Another co-worker or manager might also successfully intercede to help negotiate a compromise that paves the way for forgiveness.

Any change in corporate culture must come from senior management modeling more forgiving behavior and not tolerating vengeance. LeMon suggested adding a statement in the corporate handbook: "We are a working community that accepts that we will disappoint one another. We also agree that we will not seek vengeance."

LeMon's Web site is www.execenrichment.com

Worthington's is: www.forgiving.org

Forgiveness in the workplace not only rectifies working relationships and improves morale, it also leads to better health. On the other hand, holding a grudge might just kill you.

"The critical issue is not to maintain the silence - silence literally will kill us," says Dr. Cal LeMon, a management consultant on forgiveness in the workplace. "What happens is we keep working some transgression over in our mind, running that videotape between our ears. After awhile, it gets terribly distorted."

Those who come to work feeling stressed out about a co-worker can even end up posing a danger to themselves or others. The Holmes-Rahe Stress Test shows that people whose stress levels are high have a greater chance of suffering an accident, injury or serious illness.

On the other hand, forgiveness can be a life-saver.

That's according to several reports linking letting go of anger with reducing heart disease and prolonging lives. One Prevention Magazine report measured vital signs of test subjects who were asked to think about someone who had victimized them in the past. The test subjects who chose to imagine forgiving their offenders had measurably lower heart rates and blood pressure.

The Campaign for Forgiveness Research in Virginia is currently funding several studies that link forgiveness with reduced cancer heart disease, stress, and other illnesses.

Another Campaign study showed that groups who were taught forgiveness skills had a significant decrease in levels of anxiety and depression, as well as improved hope and self-esteem.