Being co-opted into a war you didn’t sign up for is like being dropped a grenade during a peaceful lunch break. Suddenly you’re facing the risk of an explosion, you’re forced to go through a mess you had no hand in creating, and the worst part is you’ll lose your lunch.

Early in my career, one such proverbial grenade landed right in my lap.

I had just joined the company and as a lowly junior in the department I had somehow landed the unenviable role of reporting to not one but two supervisors.

As the kids say, ugh.

My supervisors Marianne and Sandy (not their real names) have had a long-standing friendship. They graduated from the same course at the same university and were employed by the company at the same time. Same job title, same thing.

In peacetime, we were a happy little trio who occasionally lunched together, basking in the illusion of collegial harmony.

But one fateful morning, the workplace gods decided to throw a curveball: Sandy was promoted.

Marianne did not take the news well – and decided that the ideal strategy for herself would be to stop talking to Sandy. And when I say “off”, I mean a complete cessation of communication.

Hello? Unrecognized. Dates? A series of painful, awkward silences that made me wish I could sink into my chair and disappear.

Don’t say anything about those lunch breaks.

At this point, I was also promoted to the prestigious role of…messenger.

I was the child caught in the middle of a bitter divorce, with neither parent willing to speak directly to the other.

“Can you let Sandy know that the report needs her approval before sending it to Chris?”

“Kelvin, please inform Marianne that we have reviewed the report and there are quite a few numbers missing.”

“Would you be so kind as to convey to Sandy that she absolutely doesn’t deserve her promotion because we basically work the same job and I barely got her through our senior year project back at school?”

Okay, I made that last one up. But you get the idea.

When two colleagues are locked in a silent (or not so silent) war, office work can feel like FIBUA – Fighting In Built-Up Areas, for those who haven’t undergone National Service.

But don’t worry, there are ways to navigate these tricky battlefields without getting caught in the crossfire. Here are five tips for surviving the Great War without choosing sides – or losing your mind.