The theory behind productive gossip is that evolution caused gossip to play an important role in society over thousands of years.

FORBES: Why Gossip Is Good For The Office

No matter where you are in leadership or starting your own business, you need to know what people say behind your back and you need to listen to a little bit of gossip.

FORBES: Corporate Culture For The Protest Generation

While PostcardMania has a policy forbidding office gossip, Ms. Gendusa concedes there was at least one time when employees faulted a colleague behind this person's back for not contributing as much money to a charity as everyone else at the firm.

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