Question: “I have applied for many jobs, but no one calls me for an interview. I have 10 years’ experience and my résumé has been professionally written, but I’m not getting any bites. What am I to do?” —Feeling Hopeless

Question: "For eight years, I received 'outstanding' performance reviews. Two months ago, I got a new boss who doesn't seem to like me. When she did my annual evaluation, I got low ratings with no suggestions for improvement. Now I have no idea what to do. Before I had this boss, I really enjoyed this job." — Not Appreciated

Question: "I work in a very small office with my boss, his wife and two administrative assistants.  As the office manager, I supervise the assistants, but they always take their questions or concerns to the boss’s wife. Recently, when one of them complained about a task that I gave her, the boss’s wife told me to do the task instead. So how can I be considered their supervisor?” — Ignored

Question: “My boss is sarcastic and likes to yell.  When I confronted him about his behavior, he blew up, threw his arms around and got red in the face. I said that I had to get back to work and walked out of his office. Now, he barely speaks to me. I’m tired of all this drama. What should I do?” — Sick of Fighting

Question: “I recently started a new job and can see many ways to improve things. However, 'Beth,' my main co-worker, refuses to consider any of my ideas. She has been working here for 15 years, and she gets very defensive if I suggest ways that she could do her work more efficiently. How can I get her to listen to me?” — Frustrated

People who fail come from all walks of life. A handful of people, regardless of education, intelligence, manners, appearance or other obvious factors, rise steadily through the ranks and stay on top through fat and lean times. They are the types who, either consciously or instinctively, know the art of political survival.
 

When you don't address negativity in the workplace, it proliferates. Try these five steps to contain the mood.

Question: “I am the CEO of a small community bank. We have a dress code that has not been updated for several years. Many of our female employees have asked if we could relax the dress code requirement that hose must be worn with pants or long skirts. I don't want to be needlessly old-fashioned or out-of-step with the rest of the world, but I’m not sure if this is appropriate. How should we go about reviewing our dress code policy?”  —Not a Fashionista

Question: “I’m a new manager, and one of my employees has a lot more experience than I do. I feel that I should be working for him. He says that he didn’t want the management job, but he seems to resent my having it. This is becoming very uncomfortable for me. How should I handle it?” — New Supervisor

Question: “I quit my last job because the company owner had a complete personality change. He became downright mean and began engaging in unethical financial practices. My new job is interesting but has very low pay and no benefits. I'm afraid I may have made the wrong choice. Now I’m not sure what to do.” — Confused about Career

Question: “Recently, my team moved from a quiet part of the building to a very noisy location. This has made it hard to concentrate and lowered my productivity. Managers’ offices and employee cubes are only about 10 feet apart. When managers and employees want to talk, they just yell back and forth.  One manager is constantly on the speakerphone with his door open. To top it off, I sit next to a drama queen who deals with one personal crisis after another on the phone.  It’s like working in the middle of "The Jerry Springer Show." I’ve talked with my manager, but so far he’s been no help. How do I get these loud people to shut up?!” — Ready to Scream

Question: “One of my co-workers is a bitter, miserable, snide person. “Judy” hates her life, her job and everyone around her. She does no substantive work and treats everyone with disdain and disrespect. So why is Judy still working here? Because no matter what she does, the owner of our company protects her. When other employees complain, he accuses them of failing to get along with her.  He has even threatened to fire people. I'm certain there is no "hanky-panky" going on between them, so his tolerance of Judy’s attitude is completely baffling. What can I do about this?” — Fed Up

Question: “My job offers many learning experiences and a wide variety of interesting projects.  However, my pay does not reflect many of the tasks I have taken on. After my manager said she couldn’t give me a raise, I decided to approach her boss. I gave him a list of all my duties and explained why the additional work should justify more pay. He said that no one else has received extra compensation for these responsibilities and that more pay was not an option. I replied that no one else does as much work as I do.  However, that seemed to be the end of the conversation. Can you suggest other ways to ask for higher pay?  My job is great, but I feel that I deserve more.” — Underpaid

Question: “Tom, a long-term employee, recently transferred into my unit. He has a reputation of being "difficult," and now I know why. On good days, he’s productive, upbeat and pleasant. But on bad days, he’s critical, rude and hostile.  Unfortunately, the bad days outnumber the good days. As his manager, I’ve tried to be calm and supportive, but he’s exhausting me! What can I do?” -- Dr. Jekyll’s Boss

Question: “I have worked at my company for more than 20 years. Whenever I apply for a new position, I am passed over. I think it’s because I’m older looking and lack the “babeness” of younger women.  What do you think?” -- Not a Hottie

Question: “My new boss is truly a male chauvinist. He has surrounded himself with male managers and completely ignores all the women. After holding a management position for eight years, I was recently reclassified to a nonmanagement level. My boss gave no reason for this change, except to say ‘it would be best for the department.’ Although my title has been downgraded, my duties are almost exactly the same. The boss gave my old title to a man, along with a hefty raise. My boss says this change was not punitive. I believe that he simply doesn’t want any women managers. Should I jump ship or go on as though nothing has happened?” — Discouraged

Question: "One of my employees has a toxic attitude. He criticizes co-workers, blames them for his problems and argues about everything. His rude and insensitive e-mails imply that everyone is an idiot, including me. We have had many long, drawn-out debates about these issues. Sometimes, I feel like we’re making progress, but then he’ll send another complaining e-mail. Talking things through with him clearly doesn’t help. I’m emotionally drained and have no idea what to do next.” — Worn Out 

Question: “I work with someone who is the boss’s pet.  She talks on the phone with him all the time, and he allows her to work extra hours, even though I also could use the overtime. This co-worker reviews all orders and also is responsible for updating the computer records. Whenever a problem arises, the boss calls her to discuss it. There are only two of us here, but he won’t cross-train me on her duties. How should I handle this unfairness?” — The Unfavored One

Question: “My boss recently got upset with a co-worker about some problems with customer orders.  To get her attention, the boss reached across the desk and grabbed “Angela” by the jaw. When I spoke with Angela about the manager’s improper behavior, she agreed that he was probably wrong, although she wasn’t too disturbed about it. I decided to have a talk with my boss. I told him that I found his actions inappropriate, and he agreed with me. But when he learned that I had already discussed the situation with Angela, he became very irritated. My talking to her really bothered him.  Should I have handled this situation differently? What should I do now?” — Appalled Worker

Question: “One of my employees is a good worker, but she’s a real motormouth. “Brenda” talks nonstop to anyone she can corner, repeating the same stories about her marriage, her family and her medical problems. She not only keeps other employees from working, but she also runs off potential customers with her nonstop conversation. If Brenda would just shut up, the office would greatly improve. I’ve been patient about this so far, but now she’s demanding more money because she’s getting divorced.  Brenda has told co-workers that she could earn more elsewhere, so I'm tempted to just tell her to leave. I have invested time training Brenda, and I can’t fault her work (when she’s not talking).  But I don’t know how to correct this problem without tossing her out the door.” — Frustrated

Question: “I was recently let go from my position as a Division Manager. I’ve never been fired before, so this is a new situation for me. I need to start looking for work soon, and I’m not sure how to discuss my unemployment in an interview.  Since I’m in my late 40s, saying that I wanted to take time off to travel would sound funny.  Do you have any suggestions?” — Middle Age Job-Seeker

Question: “My team recently got a new boss who is very green as a manager. Although I have 20 years’ experience, she makes it abundantly clear that she feels superior to me in every way. She talks incessantly about her credentials and all the 'important' tasks she has been given.  I find her condescending, unapproachable and inflexible. Staff meetings have become a painful experience because they accomplish nothing.  Our new boss will not discuss projects in detail nor take any direction from ‘subordinates.’  I have known her manager for a long time and have a good relationship with him.  He’s a fair guy, and he respects my opinion. Should I tell him how I feel about my new boss?” — The Underling

Question: “I have worked with another manager for a long time. Until recently, we got along just fine, but now ‘Sharon’ seems upset and angry with me. A few weeks ago, an employee complained to me about a member of Sharon’s staff.  I had a friendly chat with Sharon’s staff member to pass along the feedback. Initially, he was defensive, but then he corrected the problem. Now, Sharon is giving me grief about my conversation with him. I was simply trying to be helpful and ‘keep things small.’  What should I have done differently?” — Dumbfounded

Question: “After only five days in my new management job, my boss says I’m changing things too fast and need to slow down. But I haven't changed anything. I’ve just been asking a lot of questions, yet people still seem upset with me. This is a small company, and they’ve never had a manager in this department. The company hired me to implement new policies and procedures. I’m confused about how to handle this situation. What should I do?” — Ready to Take Over

Question: “Our department head refuses to allow telecommuting. He will not accept that people can work productively at home even though other department heads occasionally permit it. My commute is an hour each way, so eliminating drive time one or two days a week would greatly improve my quality of life. My immediate supervisor favors the idea, but she knows the department head won’t approve it, and if he does it for me, he’ll have to do it for everyone. I would like to offer myself as a telecommuting test case. How should I present the idea?” — Tired of Driving