A founder of a 10-employee company has disappeared for weeks at a time due to alcoholism, leaving staff to handle operations solo. Without an HR department or board, employees have kept things running but face eroding morale. The advice column recommends they band together and leverage their practical control over the business.

Collectively demanding fair compensation for extra work makes sense when you're effectively running the company. Staff could also negotiate formal power-sharing or ownership stakes, since the founder depends entirely on them to function. Small, founder-led firms often lack governance structures, making employee leverage the only real check.

The second letter reveals that workplace tensions can surface even at informal gatherings. A child told the founder's wife, "Charlie has the best parties, but we don't like Charlie," exposing friction staff may not voice at work. Leaders should pay attention when private disdain leaks into social settings.