Cynthetiq

personally i don't give a crap about my coworkers and other "mates"

i'm there to get a task/job done, not be friends, brothers, and sisters. because of that, i'm not interested in playing games or being passive aggressive. i will ask what their problem is and that may or may not fix it. being assertive isn't a magic bullet to resolving all conflict, it does however give you the mental release of "letting it go" so that you can concentrate on what you are there for, your job or duty.

being assertive means that you exhaust all your options as well, this means you may have to speak to the senior people you are worried about being "backstabbed". again, assertive doesn't guarantee results. your duty is to speak to them about your performance and professionalism. ask them flat out if you are not living up to the standards and that this game playing is getting in the way of your concentration and creating a hostile work environment.

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I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.