But that and a few other small but concrete steps like overlapping lunch breaks and moving coffee stations can improve workplace morale and productivity by as much as 25%, according to Ben Waber, a research scientist and CEO of Sociometric Solutions, a management consulting firm.

CNN: Workplace happiness: What's the secret?

"It's more of a management crisis, " said Steven Cadrin, a former NOAA scientist and faculty member at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

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The scientist in question is Charles Monnett, who works with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (think the nation could survive without this office?) in Anchorage.

FORBES: Drowning Polar Bears And the Return Of Ursus Bogus

Here is a lesson one political scientist draws from the collapse of the Soviet Union: The euro-zone's crisis-management strategy is increasing the currency bloc's chances of disintegration.

WSJ: It Pays to Be Flexible in Euro-Crisis Fight