Workplace bullying exacts a greater toll on individuals' health and companies' profits than sexual harassment. Some of the signs are obvious, some aren't. In fact, one expert likens this insidious workplace epidemic to cancer. Perhaps at the root of the problem are the victims' feelings of disbelief and confusion. Scientists report, verbal abuse ignites an individual's anterior cingulate cortex-the same region that responds to physical abuse.

Many consider themselves animal lovers but few have the stomach to provide the veterinary assistance a cow requires to birth a calf. Yet, 3,000 applicants overwhelmed the Twycross Zoo creating an eight-kilometre traffic jam during a recent recruitment day. The zoo advertised for cleaners, cooks and park rangers-they got bankers and company executives among candidates.

Fashionista women know that looking fabulous is mostly about the fabric and cut of the clothes they wear. Yet, it's the hem and necklines that distinguish what is appropriate for the boardroom and what's appropriate at a cocktail party. Women experts agree that their female colleagues aren't paying enough attention to this divide. While their advice isn't one-size-fits all, women should remember to dress in ways that match their employers' corporate cultures.

There's a fine line between mysophobia and a full-blown obsessive-compulsive disorder. Colleagues who carry their own spray bottle of disinfectant and box of tissues are borderline cases. Yet, at the height of flu season this is no laughing matter. As counter intuitive as it may seem, sick employees should take one for the team by staying home and calling in sick.