Human tape recorder

You confess to a colleague that you're worried about your supervisor, who hasn't been very focused the last three weeks and has been coming in late to work. Later that day, like a game of office telephone, you hear a version of your story from a different co-worker, and it's not hard to figure out the source. The Tape Recorder takes your confidential conversations and plays them back to everyone in the office. The person's motivation is often to feel important or "in the know" rather than any malicious intent. --"What Kind of Office Gossip Are You?," MSN

Say wha?

Beyond that, “if a leader has his ear to the ground, gossip can be a way for him to get a sense of what his employees are thinking or feeling,” said Professor Kusy, who is also a co-author of “Manager’s Desktop Consultant.” —NYT