职场英语：办公室英文政治词汇

Grapevine

The process through which information gets spread unofficially throughout the company. Can be word of mouth, email, or even a hand-written piece of paper. In most companies, news, rumors, gossip and information can spread to hundreds or thousands of employees in a very short time.

Brown-nosing / kissing up / sucking up

Being overly friendly with the boss, or upper management, or anybody with some power or control, with the intent of getting favors from them, such as promotions, raises, bonuses, etc. In many cases, it is possible that there are other employees who merit these advantages more than the brown-noser.

Back-biting

Malicious talk that undermines someone’s reputation or unfairly criticizes someones work when theyre not around.

Gossip

Loose talk to disclose something, often of questionable veracity, that is better kept to oneself. Can involve talking about an individual, a group, company issues. Can be business-related or personal.

Rumors

Similar to gossip, but usually more based on some factual element or half-truth.

Rumor mongering

Spreading a rumor with malicious intent.

Peer-to-peer

Gossip, rumors, information-spreading, etc. that takes place among employees of the same rank.

Cliques

Group of employees who stick together bound by common beliefs, interests, and/or personalities. They are usually resistant to allowing outsiders in who they feel are different from them.

Kiss a lot of frogs

Colloquial term used to describe an upwardly ambitious and aggressive person who wants to climb the ladder by having questionable relationships.

Scandal

Involves something damaging to the company or staff that was previously hidden and comes to light.