Question:

My boss is a queen bee and purposely tries to make all of the other women in the office look bad. She individually bullies each woman staff member as well as tries to make them look bad at staff meetings. I am just starting out in my career. My dad always said that "cream rises to the top" and that I should just ignore the queen bee. What do you think?

Answer:

I feel badly for you and your co-workers. Poisonous people seem to be inhabiting the workplace with increasing numbers. My dad had a saying - "there's always going to be at least one person standing in the way of happiness in an office". I think his saying pretty much sums things up. During a bad economy - it seems as though the office place has become even more toxic and inhabited by these horrible people.

I wish your dad were right about "cream rising to the top". All of us would like to believe that. But,  don't forget about  the Peter Principle - "people rise to their level of incompetence". To deal with a queen bee or any other toxic office inhabitant - it's good if you become allies with many of the people in your office and try to be helpful to all sorts of folks. Find mentors. I know it is really tough when the "queen bee" or "king pin" is your boss. Just try to do your job to the best of your ability and use your allies to try to cope with the bee. I don't think it will work to just ignore what is going on. You really do have to "fight fire with fire" sometimes.  If you want to come in and talk more about your situation, feel free to schedule a time to talk. All the best to you.