Oh no. You can hear them coming down the hall and are wishing you could hide under your desk. Being on a team project with them can feel like there's no escaping them. You know who I'm talking about: the nay-sayers and folks who seem to go around thinking there's a contest to be won for complaining or seeing the worst out of every situation.

Significantly, people who had more power in the office were less likely to report feeling dirty when it came to networking, and engaged in it more often. That effect can make it harder to penetrate existing power structures, because it means those already in power are more comfortable with networking and continue to reinforce and advance their positions.

For some, emotions -- positive or negative -- are not readily expressed, at least not in public. Some may take this as good manners, others as signs of rigidity and unnatural restraint. In any case, researchers warn that perpetual emotional suppression is nothing benign but can lead to potentially serious mental and physical health problems and even premature death.