Michael and Susan Pope had witnessed enough of parenthood to give them second thoughts about having children of their own. After seeing friends vanish into an abyss of diaper bags, sleepless nights, stress, arguments and the apparent loss of every conceivable freedom, they had plenty of reasons to reconsider.

It’s the last stop during your in-house interview, and you’re knackered. As you wait for human resources to arrive, you’re adding up the things you should have done differently that day. As the HR rep enters the room and sits down, you still have time to make one more mistake, and it could be the biggest of the day. She starts naming the perks awarded to everyone from janitor to CEO, such as paid holidays, sick leave and a bathroom with free toilet paper. Then, she throws out the number you’ve been waiting for: a starting salary. Do you accept the offer or start negotiations?

The boss must be crazy. 

It may be the riskiest and most difficult conversation to bring up at work, but what other option does an employee have when a manager becomes abusive, disturbed, withdrawn or otherwise damages the workplace?

Leave? That may be an option, or it may not be. The same goes for visiting the human relations department. If H.R. can’t — or won’t — fix the problem, here are some tips on how to address your boss’ behavior and keep your job. 

A few years ago, Troy Underwood noticed a problem with one of his accountants. The man’s work performance and personal appearance had deteriorated, he talked constantly on the phone with his children and agonized about his domestic life. 

A week after graduating with a bachelor’s in accounting, I showed up to my new job at a Big Five accounting firm with the best JC Penney suit my signing bonus could buy. It was the middle of the dot-com boom, and although the term business casual was starting to surface, no one could give a straight answer on its definition.

At an age when many other couples still don’t have their day-to-day finances in shape, Sarah Britton and Will Gonzalez were already planning for their retirement. He was 36, she was 30.

By most accounts, today’s workforce is more productive than ever, suggesting that technologies meant to help us do more in less time are working.

Visions of the golden years often include thoughts of second homes, lush fairways and RV cruises through Yellowstone, but for more and more aging baby boomers, one traumatic event — divorce — can upend plans for retirement.

Americans once looked at early retirement as reward for decades of hard work, a chance to relax and the opportunity to do more of what they enjoyed — including doing absolutely nothing.

When Shelley Tabar’s father fell off her roof, she became his primary caregiver and subsequently lost nearly half her income.