Cannot switch from Remote Desktop to child window on local..

I am running Remote Desktop to access a business system. However if I try to
Alt+Tab to switch from the remote desktop to say a child window in Outlook or
Excel it flashes up on the screen but does not actually switch.

I have a couple of colleagues who use the same service and they have no
problems. The only difference I have is that my screen resolution is
1280x1024 whereas they run at 1024x768.

I have tried changing my windows resolution but this does not seem to work.

If anyone has any ideas I would be grateful.