Never mind dealing with competition from China, rising resin prices and last-minute design changes.

The real challenge that American employers face, apparently, is dealing with workplace princesses.

According to a study by Rachelle Canter, author of executive career handbook Make the Right Career Move, 48 percent of Americans say there is a princess at their workplace -- and 16 percent say the princess is a man!

What is a workplace princess? According to the study, they are employees who expect special favors, or express the belief that they are being treated unfairly, or make other people do their work for them.

Are you an office princess? Here are some warning signs, according to Canter:

• Do most of your sentences begin with I want or I need?

• Do you know the career goals of your friends and co-workers or only your own?

• When was the last time you listened for 30 minutes to a good friend or colleague with a serious problem?

• When was the last time you called or visited a colleague just to see how they are doing?

• In job interviews do you focus on what you want (a great opportunity, room for advancement, lucrative compensation, a mentor) rather than on what you can contribute or offer an employer?

• When things go wrong, do you blame the situation and other people?

• Do you worry about other people or only yourself?

Check out the link above if you'd like some tips on how to stop being a workplace princess. (Sorry, there are no tips on how to deal with a princess.)

And, by the way, princesses aren't alone in the hierarchy of workplace royalty. Her study also found that 21 percent of workplaces have a workplace queen, 18 percent have a workplace king -- and 34 percent (including Plastics News) have a workplace joker.

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