A February report released by The Conference Board – a market information company that also produces the Consumer Confidence Index – found that, for the first time ever, fewer than 50 percent of Americans were satisfied with their jobs. Young workers led the way with just 39 percent job satisfaction, followed by the 45-54-year-old age group, which has the second-lowest level of satisfaction at 45 percent.

Office politics can be difficult to define, but one thing is certain: there’s no getting around them. For some, mastering office politics is the key to their careers. Others would like to avoid them altogether. And the impact on employee morale, , depending on whom you ask, can range from favorable to fatal.