What makes you so sure anyone’s playing for power in my scenario?
Bob is attempting to solve a problem that’s causing both Alice and Bob suffering.
Alice may be playing for power, or she may not want to burden Bob with her personal problems, and may be honestly unaware that she’s causing Bob to suffer.
If Alice is being passive-aggressive (as you stated) then she is trying to be manipulative… in this case(as you stated) by causing Bob to suffer when he has (as you stated) done nothing wrong.
She is punishing him for having done nothing. This is a power play, pure and simple.
A non-power play solution to the problem would be for Alice to sit Bob down and explain why she’s so upset, or just to say that she doesn’t want to burden him with her personal problems and can he please stop bothering her about it? or similar…
Yes, quite right—in which case it is a power-play, pure and simple.
I just wanted to present an alternative to show that it’s not always so cut and dried.
What makes you so sure anyone’s playing for power in my scenario?
Bob is attempting to solve a problem that’s causing both Alice and Bob suffering.
Alice may be playing for power, or she may not want to burden Bob with her personal problems, and may be honestly unaware that she’s causing Bob to suffer.
passive-aggressive behaviour is a power play.
If Alice is being passive-aggressive (as you stated) then she is trying to be manipulative… in this case(as you stated) by causing Bob to suffer when he has (as you stated) done nothing wrong.
She is punishing him for having done nothing. This is a power play, pure and simple.
A non-power play solution to the problem would be for Alice to sit Bob down and explain why she’s so upset, or just to say that she doesn’t want to burden him with her personal problems and can he please stop bothering her about it? or similar…