One of the greatest cause of stress at work is office politics, so you aren't alone in despising this plague.
Some tips:

	Take solace in the fact that as long as there are at least two people involved, there will be office politics.
	Spend the time it takes to worry about something by doing something about it.
	You must deal with office politics to minimize stress. Fortunately, it's not that difficult.
	First, be good at your job so attacks against your productivity are misguided.
	Deal with them early on and stick with it. One attempt to nullify attacks, innuendo, or mistruths isn't sufficient.
	Maintain your sense of humor. If you can't bring yourself to see the humor in the situation, you won't be effective in addressing the more difficult and uncomfortable ones.
	Be straightforward and direct when addressing others' infractions against you. If you fear calling them directly, you become part of the problem in office politics. To deal with a problem:
	Research the validity of your concern;
	If it is valid, contact the other person(s) involved and explain what you found;
	Ask for their point of view;
	If it is satisfactory, say so;
	If it is not satisfactory, say so and tell the person you plan to discuss this with the boss;
	Invite that person to be in on the meetings;
	Explain to the boss the steps you've taken (1 through 6) and how you'd like things cleared up;
	Get resolution and be sure everyone knows about it.
	Use humor and keep a good posture, a relaxed tone of voice, and a relaxed smile on your face during all of the conversations in the eight steps. Don't exaggerate or be sarcastic.
	Avoid judging the person's motivation; just deal with the reality.
	The next time another situation occurs, repeat the eight steps. Fall-back plans
	Make notes, mental and otherwise, of details to use later if necessary.
	Treat people with a clean slate, despite their past history with you. You'd only want the same.
	Ask yourself, "Is there anything I can do in 5 minutes that will make this situation better?" Do that. You might avoid having to do all eight steps later.
	Don't burn bridges.
	The key to dealing with office politics is to not fear it. Address problems early. Be pleasant but firm. Offer alternative . Say something pleasant to the parties involved when it is finished.
	It seems to take three encounters handled in this effective way before the other person clearly learns you cannot be toyed with.
	Politics runs rampant when there is a lack of control, lack of information, or lack of feedback. Don't let that happen to you.
	Remember, there isn't a person out there who doesn't have this same problem. How you handle the inevitable office politics will tell your boss more about your potential than just about anything else you can do. (visit Emotional Intelligence for more)

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