'Your anonymous feedback surveys are 100% not anonymous': 20+ common lies bosses have told their employees in the workplace

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Aug 15, 2024 2:00 PM EDT

Who among us hasn't made the mistake of trusting your employer? Look, it doesn't matter if you have the best job in the world. You have to take care of yourself first and foremost, which means that putting all your faith in the person who signs your checks is, to put it mildly, a liability. 

These employees shared the most common lies they have been told by their current and former bosses in the workplace. One of the many takeaways we have gathered here is that just like Mariah Carey's vocals, these lies have some range to them. Whether it's fake rules regarding salary discussion or misleading promises from human resources, these employees have all endured the upsetting disillusionment that comes after your workplace environment has let you down.

Keep scrolling below for the full collection of anecdotes and keep them in mind the next time you're on the lookout for a new company to work for. 

For more tales of workplace drama, check out this post about a long-time employee who was fired over Zoom so that the owner's son could be promoted.

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  • 01
    Commercial break in progress. "You aren't allowed to discuss your pay/salary."
    via Campaign Creators
  • 02
    Damseldoll We just don't have the money for that...
    via pretendstoknow
  • 03
    mightyatom13 If you just do this extra work until the other position is filled, you will be rewarded later.
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  • 04
    eesterdg You aren't allowed to discuss your pay/salary
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  • 05
    Dabrigstar We are like a family here
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  • 06
    Justanothers. That you owe them loyalty. You don't. You are a number in SAP that costs money. Once you are replaceable or your skill set is no longer required, you're done. No. matter your situation in life.
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  • 07
    UnfinishedThings "You may have heard some rumours that [insert bad thing here] is happening, but I'm here today to tell you that this isn't the case"
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  • 08
    kds-92. HR is your friend
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  • 09
    cake-fork Your job is safe. This in so many ways is, well you get. the picture.
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  • 10
    Unlimited vacation days really means minimal vacation days.
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  • 11
    magicmike9 We believe in work life balance
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  • 12
    definitelynotadi... If you make sacrifices for us now, we will reward you in the future. All they're ever gonna do in the future is ask for more sacrifices.
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  • 13
    Pallysilverstar We appreciate your hard work.
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  • 14
    rextremendae2... We care about you
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  • 15
    SarenTenet914 Your anonymous employee feedback surveys are 100% not anonymous.
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  • 16
    Fancy_Lingonbe... Workload.. been at my current job for less than 4 months and my workload is already 2x what the manager said I'd be responsible for.
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  • 17
    Growth opportunities.. Reasonable raises.. HR is trustworthy.. Good benefits.. Fair/equal pay.. Favorites don't exist..
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  • 18
    Work/life balance of employees is valued by leadership.. Leaders are screened for competency before being given their position..
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  • 19
    Leadership saying they'll advocate for your needs... Soft deadlines that are actually hard deadlines..
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  • 20
    [deleted] • 8mo ago End of year reviews are objective and non-biased, self-appraisals matter. Where I work, management literally sits in a room and ranks everyone based on the way they feel and sets their rating for the year BEFORE self-appraisals are submitted. The whole process is a bit of a joke.
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  • 21
    VARROWHEAD The next job/promotion will pay you more We are planning to expand
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  • 22
    aoshide Effective workers get rewarded. Yes, with more work...
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  • 23
    NPC1_ Flexible hours
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  • 24
    Effective_Sunda... That one word that starts with a "U" is bad. Any time you mention it while working for a fortune 500 i'm sure their ears start burning
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  • 25
    Caspers_Shadow Everything is OK and there will be no layoffs. When you have worked in an industry for a long time you start to see the signals. Most employers will lie right up to the day they let you go. | have seen it happen time and time again. One employer did 3 rounds of layoffs in about 6 weeks. They had to know.
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