Company mandates 'anonymous' survey, turns their answers into a public loyalty test: 'The room was silent'

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JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
May 22, 2026 10:00 AM EDT

Should surveys at work be anonymous?

If they were advertised as anonymous, then they certainly should stay that way. Anonymity is nothing to be messed with. If you don't feel like your company has your back, then can you be expected to have theirs? If they're telling you one thing and then doing another, then where does that leave you? If you can't trust them, then how are you expected to do good work for them? And a betrayal of anonymity is a huge betrayal of trust. You can't always get out from under that, nor should you. You should trust that your company has your best interests at heart, and when you find out they don't, then you have a right to be upset. That's what happened here, when a company said they would do one thing, but actually did another. 

On the other hand, you can never truly assume that the information you give to your company is private. You have to be careful about what you let slip because you never know if it might be used against you. This is the unfortunate reality of a lot of companies nowadays. So sometimes it's best just to keep your head down, do your work, and not assume the best. It can backfire on you quickly, and then you might end up in a situation you regret. The person in this story learned that the hard way and ended up with a story to tell. 

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  • A group of people sit in a conference room
    via Redd Francisco

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Owner turned an "anonymous" company survey into a public loyalty test.

    I used to work at a pretty toxic place with about 100 employees. The owner was big on controlling everyone's lives and required us to do unpaid trainings and seminars outside of work hours. They basically just relied on intimidating people so nobody would question it (I actually managed to end that right before I quit, but that's a separate story).
    via Booya1983
  • Anyway, we were at one of these mandatory meetings and at the end, he hands out a paper survey with questions about the company. I initially wrote down lower scores that were my honest opinion, assuming they were just going to collect and tally them up.
    via Booya1983
  • Instead, the owner stands up and goes, "Okay, in terms of how the company compensates employees... who gave us an A?" The room was de d silent except for one new girl who raised her hand. At that point, everyone in the room realized this was a test.
    via Booya1983
  • So when he followed with "who gave us a B," every single person put their hand up. Everyone just changed their answers on the spot to survive the meeting. But on one of the later questions, the owner asked who gave a 'C',
    via Booya1983
  • and one woman actually raised her hand. The owner pulled her aside right after the meeting and aggressively questioned her about her opinion. Fun fact: The owner was so obsessed with tracking us and demanding approval, but his own son who worked there was caught embezzling from him a year or two later.
    via Booya1983
  • A group of people sit in a conference room
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Commenters gave their opinions on this story

    Nenoshka I learned long ago that an anonymous survey is NEVER anonymous.
    via Nenoshka

  • We all have stories of betrayal in our lives, and hopefully, it happens on a smaller scale rather than a larger one. We hope that we can ultimately come out of it unscathed and that the people we work for will take it in stride. Every experience is a learning experience, and sometimes the truth is uncomfortable to know. That's why we need outside opinions to give us a little bit of perspective. It doesn't hurt to have a larger view of what is going on. Keep reading to see what happened here and see what you think.

  • clutzycook That reminds me of an awful boss I had at a previous job. We had dome one of those "anonymous" employee engagement surveys a few months earlier and around the time the results came in, she scheduled all of us for
    via clutzycook
  • this full-day team "retreat." Towards the end of the afternoon, she pulled out the results and started to go over them with us. She would tell us that x% of the team gave some statement a specific score, which meant that a specific
    via clutzycook
  • number of us answered the question that way. And then she gave all of us a look like she expected us to fess up to giving a less than perfect score. As luck would have it, we managed to get her fired about 5 months later, which was good because she really was horrible.
    via clutzycook
  • EManSanta Fe They did that one from my Alma mater. An "anonymous" survey. At the bottom of the last page in tiny print was my social security number.
    via EManSantaFe
  • Strict-Discussion290 Yeah just delete surveys immediately
    via Strict-Discussion290
  • PatientBoring There are books, podcasts, YouTube videos, seminars, and businesses designed to make management better. If they cared they'd use these resources. An employee survey is never about
    via PatientBoring
  • wanting to be better. I always give "I am happy with my work life balance. I am satisfied with the management style. I think we can improve our wellness incentives." If there's any other grievances I have, I just update and dust off the ole resumé
    via PatientBoring
  • ScaryGarry_SG1 Isn't it precious when they all want to discuss their feelings after an "anonymous" survey?
    via ScaryGarry_SG1
  • spoonybard326 Pay attention to wording. At my company it's "confidential". They don't use the word anonymous.
    via spoonybard326
  • UntappdBeer Got the automated survey in a former job I was actually planning on leaving, ignored email for a few days as knew manager would contact me saying why hadn't I filled it in.
    via UntappdBeer
  • When he emailed I responded with he seriously doesn't want my feedback on how the company sucked balls and by the way here is my notice.
    via UntappdBeer
  • AlphaChewtoy "98% of our employees gave us an A+ in our anonymous survey!" No, 98% of your employees realize that this is not "anonymous"
    via AlphaChewtoy

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antiwork workplace-stories toxic-workplace job work coworkers working toxic-boss bad bosses
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