Queen Bees in the workplace

I work in a seriously dysfunctional and toxic office. Now before you say “just quit” remember this is easier said than done. I make good money for the line of work I am in and I do genuinely enjoy what I do. Also, it is not easy to find another job that, in real life, would be an adequate switch. Trust me, I’ve considered leaving. But at least for now, I have to stay. So I am seeking advice on how to best deal with the toxic environment.

To start off, I work with mostly women. And it seems the ones who are the most entitled, lazy and manipulative are viewed as golden. Their word is taken at face value from the owner of our practice. The more they kiss her ass, the more they are in her favor. The real hard working ones who bust their butts and pick up the slack of the entitled queen bees go unrecognized and are not valued. There is one queen bee in particular that I have to work closely with who is the biggest snake of them all. She has been with the practice long enough to figure out every possible way to avoid having to work, while somehow making herself appear to be the best in the eyes of the owner. I don’t know how she does it. She has created an environment of intimidation and fear. Nobody dares to speak up about her lazy behavior and bullying. Because we have all seen what she is capable of. If she wants someone gone, she finds a way. She will sabotage, bully, nitpick and run to management to blacklist anyone she sees as a threat. She has made sure to befriend and kiss ass to anyone that is higher up. So going to management is useless. If anyone were to dare speak the truth about her, she would be told and that person would become a target.

But the big problem is this particular snake is just itching to move up in the company. She has outright admitted she no longer wants to be an assistant (we are in a dental office). She is over it because god forbid she has to be on her feet working her butt off after being with the company so long. She already feels she is above it. She wants a nice cushy desk job with a title and authority so she can sit on a computer all day pretending to work while bossing people around. She is desperate to be given a title. However, our owner has decided to no longer have a head assistant because *gasp* it caused problems in the past. So instead she has unofficially made this snake a head assistant but with no title or firm authority. But in the mind of the snake, she is the head assistant. And on our end of the job there is nobody to keep her in check because the other queen bees sitting at their desks have no clue what even happens or is supposed to happen on our end. So it has become a free for all for the snake. And you better believe she takes full advantage of that. She avoids shared duties like the plague. She pushes work on others especially new employees who don’t know any better and are eager to prove themselves. She tries to work her way out of any assisting duties as much as possible. Yet... she is still filling the position of an assistant. And therefore causing a lot of extra stress and work for everyone else. She hasn’t been given the title or desk job that she craves. So instead she does whatever she can to avoid her duties as an assistant. And it just happens daily, creating chaos and resentment. She has mastered appearing like she is just working so hard while the only thing she is working hard at is avoiding her job. She races around the office huffing and puffing and sighing and always making excuses for why she isn’t able to contribute. But nobody dares to call her out or report her bs behavior. Because she has created an environment of fear and has made sure she is protected and will be told by the queen bees in management if anyone says a thing about her. It is maddening! The funny thing is, she has been known in the past way before I was there to have caused trouble and drama. She has been told that the harsh way she speaks to and treats people is what is keeping her from getting promoted officially. I have heard our owner is aware of how she is and will never give her an actual title. But why keep this toxic person around? The snake is now desperately trying to be friendly on the surface as an attempt to “prove” she is worthy. But most that knew her in the past won’t buy it. And her already acting entitled and avoiding her current duties is just a pre-cursor for how she will be if promoted. Yet funny thing is, the entitled lazy ones who kiss the owner’s butt are first pick to be promoted! They just have had a better hold on controlling their true entitled queen bee mindset than this snake. I almost feel the rest of us assistants would be better off if the snake was promoted and taken off assisting duties! At least then someone else would be filling her spot as an assistant and actually contributing. I know at this point all I can do is avoid working with her as much as possible so I can avoid all the added stress of having someone who feels she is above the job. And I know there is no way this can be resolved by discussing with management or the owner. If anyone dares to go to them with a legitimate concern they are blacklisted and viewed as a “problem”. The last thing I want is to be on the radar of someone who will commit any and all malicious acts to make my life hell at work. All I’m trying to do is pay the bills. But I want to keep my sanity while I’m there. I’m taking the necessary steps to keep myself away from this snake as much as possible. But I suppose one of my faults that isn’t really a fault at all is I have a very low level of tolerance for injustice. When I or my other co-workers are stressing and juggling twice as much work while this snake is just floating around the office avoiding work and socializing and it continues to just happen unchecked I become infuriated and it negatively effects my work. I know this place will not improve, this toxic queen bee crap is their culture. Because the owner herself is a fake toxic queen bee. And I am actively looking for another job. It just isn’t easy to find something that will make sense for me. And it’s so crazy to me that this behavior just isn’t being seen! I have considered sending the owner an anonymous email laying everything out. I know for a fact
that going to her to have a discussion will NOT end well for me. My life will be made hell until I quit or I will be sabotaged until I get fired. I want to at least know that she has been made aware of all the bs that is happening in her practice. What she decides to do with that is up to her. I just don’t even know how to begin. Most of the others I work with see it. But we know the consequences of speaking up. But if the owner gave each employee the chance th express concerns 100% anonymously she would be blown away by what she hears. All that I know is I cannot continue to deal with these malicious, manipulative queen bees much longer.