Irritable Boss Syndrome

Dear Cubicle Coach: My boss gets moody every time he finishes a phone call with his wife, then takes it out on our whole team, often yelling at us. Do we have any recourse?

Answer: When the boss sneezes, alas, everybody gets a cold. Several of you could complain to HR, but that's dicey; a good HR department should protect your anonymity, but many can't be trusted or are just plain incompetent. You might enlist one of the boss's cronies to do your bidding, but often a crony only tells the boss what he likes to hear. Is this a sudden thing or pretty much par for the course? If it's the latter, start looking for a new job. Jerks rarely change. If it's recent, try to ride it out. Even bosses have baggage, and realizing that is a sign of maturity.