Katherine Crowley & Kathi Elster: Mean Girls at Work

More than ninety percent of women of different social strata claim that envy and jealousy toward other women colors their lives. Ninety percent of women in diverse jobs also report that competition in the workplace is primarily between other women, rather than between women and men. With women comprising over fifty percent of the workforce, a new dynamic has emerged.  Women find themselves working with each other in large numbers on all levels of the corporate structure for the first time.  While one would think this would create harmony and a supportive workplace atmosphere, it often fosters power struggles. 

Enter Katherine Crowley and Kathi Elster. In their previous books, Working for You Isn’t Working for Me and Working with You is Killing Me, these bestselling authors came to the rescue, offering solutions for anyone trapped in energy-zapping relationships with coworkers, bosses, or subordinates. With Mean Girls at Work: How to Stay Professional When Things Get Personal (McGraw-Hill Professional; November 2012; HC, $24.00), they approach yet another significant challenge head-on: covert competition between women at work.