Unfortunately, I wish I had more insight into this topic. I'm thinking of the workplace more than the schoolyard or neighborhood bar, and in particular I'm thinking of all the workers I've seen who gossip about the bosses (including me) in every place I've ever worked. The funny thing is though, when you're alone with a boss and you both have each other in confidence, off the record so to speak, inevitably the boss gossips just as much about the all the workers as they gossip about him.

Surely gossip must provide a relief valve from the stress of work. Honestly, unless there's real trouble, I don't think most gossip is very personal. Under the right conditions (on a trip to Bali for example), people can be super mellow and sweet, with hardly a care in the world. In the workplace they turn into savage tormented souls.

And as much as people gossip and purportedly hate the boss, I really haven't seen anyone quit to get away from a particular boss yet, and the same people who gossip viciously behind the boss's back can be seen cracking jokes in carefree joviality with the same said superior later on the day. I'm sure the reverse is true as well.

Actually, people get angry with the boss, but I don't think the boss is as smug as people think. He knows he needs the workers' cooperation and to get that at an efficient level, he has to be liked to at least some degree.

So probably gossiping is fairly harmless. We all feel cornered and frustrated at times, and gossiping to someone is an easy way to release that tension. If it's any consolation, workers also gossip about each other, the customers, and even the equipment.

This article was written by Dinah Jackson who enjoys writing about Pokemon and travel. For the largest source of  Japanese Pokemon pokedolls directly from Japan, check out this store. Pokemon plush toys, figures, binders, deck boxes, sleeves, charms, straps, dice bags, and thousands more very rare Japanese Pokemon items.