Other common causes of gossip are enry and a desire to feel supead. When you spread rumors about someone it reduces that person's status in other people's eyes. Judging other people negatively can make insecure people feel better about themselves at least temporarily. Jen lyle recalls having been guilty of this herself when i had been at my first job for about a year i was hoping for a promotion. Instead they hired a new women for the job that i hed wanted.