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. http://english.xuezhishi.net/groundwork/vocabulary/2007-01-23/3514.html
