Q: One of our employees was fired for embezzlement. Many of us watched when the human resource person walked into her office and said he needed to talk to her. She had no idea what was coming. She was on a business call at the time, which was unusual because she rarely did anything. In fact, I had complained about her many times to the owner, explaining that she always says she will handle something and never does. She was amazing at lying and getting out of doing work. The HR representative waited for her to finish the call and then he told to collect her things because she was being terminated and was to be escorted out of the building. She was stunned, but left quietly.

Later that day, a co-worker, who seems to know everything that's going on at work (we have only 15 employees), told me the owner fired her for stealing. Her name had been on the company checking account, which was weird to begin with, because she had nothing to do with financial or accounting duties. But the owner is one of these stupid nice guys. If he likes people, they can get anything they want. I don't know how my other co-worker finds out all the "dirt," but she always ends up being right.

I thought this might be my chance to talk to him. I have been at the company for almost 10 years, but the person who stole from the checking account was here only for two years. Why the owner allowed a new woman he hardly knew to write checks over a loyal employee like me makes no sense. I would like to ask him about it and tell him that he should know I would never steal from anyone for any reason. How do I tell him I know what she did without telling him who told me?

A: You can't initiate such a conversation with the owner, and you also should not be discussing the situation with others in the office. If any of the office gossip or accusations reached the terminated employee, you could be dragged into a lawsuit for damaging her reputation. Stay out of it and don't concern yourself with how your nosy co-workers find out the inside stories on employees. For all you know, she, too, may have a special relationship with the owner. In this case, it's better to remain naive.

If you want to ask the owner for more responsibility that would lead to a raise, use your high-level performance and longtime dedication to the company as reasons for why you deserve it.

TWO WAYS TO STOP AN ABUSIVE BOSS

Q: My supervisor yells at me in front of all my co-workers, which is very embarrassing to me. I can't afford to lose my job, so I don't yell back or do anything to upset her more. It affects my co-workers, too, because they make comments to me, and it affects my ability to sleep. What should I do?

A: You have no reason to be embarrassed. The person doing the yelling is the one who should be ashamed at her unprofessional behavior and lack of control. She clearly doesn't see that the employees who witness it are on your side, not hers. You are smart to not show anger, but without handling it, her behavior is not going to change.

Start a job search while you are still working and write a confidential memo to human resources or her boss describing the abusive incidents you and your co-workers have experienced. Yelling at you hurts them as well. To improve your sleep, think of the job and the type of boss you want to calm yourself before going to bed.

Email your questions to workplace expert Lindsey Novak at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @I_truly_care. To find out more about Lindsey Novak and to read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Website at www.creators.com.