Dear J.T. & Dale: My husband and I have worked in high tech for more than 20 years. With all the stress from outsourcing, reorganizations and overly aggressive management, we feel like Lucy and Ethel in that "I Love Lucy" episode where the assembly line gets faster and faster.

We've been investigating alternative careers, but none of the resources we've used addresses how the work environment fits into the picture. We fear making a career change that ends up trapping us in a new toxic environment. Kathy

J.T.: I think all industries have ratcheted up the demands on employees - it's the reality of business in America.

Dale: Yes, globalization means that your job is put out into the worldwide bidding war. One solution is to seek jobs that can't be outsourced. However, intensified competition forces management to keep increasing productivity, which means we're right back to Lucy on that assembly line.

J.T.: Rather than look for a different industry, your best hope is to find an organization whose culture is aligned with yours. The best way to do that is to interview an employer as much as he or she interviews you. See how he or she answers the tough questions, such as: "What are the biggest challenges the company faces, and how does a person in my role help overcome them?"

Dale: Having spent nearly two decades researching great bosses, I'm pleased to report that there still are a few true leaders working to create great workplaces. The culture of an organization is more about the leadership than about the industry.

J.T.: As you search for an enlightened organization, you might consider creating your own. Some companies are still encouraging telecommuting from home. Others are outsourcing work to freelancers. If you do either of those things, you'll have to be self-managing, which might make you more sympathetic to the challenges that managers face in the new economy.
Write to Jeanine "J.T." Tanner O'Donnell and Dale Dauten at King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., 15th Floor, New York, NY 10019. Or visit jtanddale.com to send them an e-mail.