Anonymous wrote:I just say to them that I like so-and-so and that I think they're a great worker.

You say this even if they are not a great worker?

For the same reasons they bad mouth people anywhere.

1) They are insecure and negative.
2) They are driven to the brink by having to deal with someone who is truly incompetent or annoying or whatever.
3) They are mentally unhealthy and engage in triangulation because that is what they do.
4) They just grew up with a lot of gossiping and it's a natural social inclination for them
5) Someone else's behavior is simply truly remarkable

It seems weird to me that you, OP, don't understand this and feel the need to post your goody-goody view of this on here.

Bc some people are awful to work with and behave awful and we are all human and need to communicate

It's only immature and gossipy if it's either not true or not relevant. But lots of information you could exchange with your coworkers about other people is both of those, even if it's negative.

Seriously, these people come across as immature and gossipy. I just say to them that I like so-and-so and that I think they're a great worker. This truly puzzles me.