Anonymous Company Survey Accidentally Leaked By HR to the Entire Company – FAIL Blog

Here’s what is potentially catastrophic about this mistake. When companies distribute these anonymous surveys, the people deciphering who said what are often exclusively in HR or in upper management. This, of course, isn’t great, and it shouldn’t be the purpose of these surveys, but it is an inevitable part of sifting through company feedback. 

Now, in this scenario, we have all employees sifting through that feedback and figuring out who said what. When everyone has access to what has been said, they might come across disparaging comments specifically citing or referring to their own output or workplace behavior. Furthermore, there is a greater likelihood of each thinly veiled comment being uncovered. Sure, HR and upper management might not catch everything, but employees on the ground certainly will.

For more stories about office mishaps, check out this post about a company’s messy new PTO policy, as well as this piece that follows a job applicant’s unfortunate recent experience.