If we hear something from someone else we should be careful to tell this to a third. Telling things to a third is not a problem until the third person goes back to the first. In that case the first person will usually be annoyed. If the message contains anything even slightly negative then the first person will often be angry at both the second and the third person. I think this is a universal human social code, independend of any culture.

We see this circle getting closed very often on television: in soap series and in movies. But it happens also in politics and at work.

The strange thing is that, at least in the Netherlands, many people, even experienced managers, seem to neglect this social rule. Not many people seem to realize that preventing the circle getting closed can prevent many problems at work. At work one should be more careful because there is even more chance that the circle gets closed than in your private life. For instance because the community is usually much smaller at work than in your private life.

In the Netherlands neglecting this rule often stays without consequences but I have seen people being sacked for a single violation.