The most egregious one was a startup that I worked for. There was a weekly all hands where anyone could ask anything either by raising their hand or by using a home made tool to ask questions. They would then get selected (we were 30 people, selection was not because we lacked time to answer questions) and the hardest questions would rarely get answered. People could also vote on which questions they wanted answered most. It was guaranteed to be anonymous but we were encouraged to sign our questions so that they could “ask clarifications.”
Questions that were not signed that were selected were always answered with “I wish I knew who asked that so I could answer them directly” from the cofounders.
But they didn’t really need that anyway. They knew exactly who asked what and who upvoted what because it was all in the database for the service.
I asked why we were not paying interns at all (it’s illegal and unfair) and signed my question. I was promptly shown the door and everyone was discouraged do good to ever use this tool to ask meaningful questions ever again.
So, yes, unfortunately the workplace is not a democracy. It’s a dictatorship in which you have no right to free speech. No one is interested in fixing anything because it puts their job or power in jeopardy. They know it sucks, but that’s why they pay you to bite your tongue and sit there 40h a week. But if you want to keep getting a salary regularly, stay quiet, do your own thing so that you meet the performance expectations, and suck it up or look for a new job while enjoying life outside work. But spoiler: your next job won’t be better, just different. Oh, and sont say anything bad on the exit form/interview: it won’t change anything about the workplace you’re never working at again, but it will bite you in the ass through references and gossip.
Really, it’s lose lose to try and provide “constructive criticism” about the process or idiotic things that are in your manager or superiors hands.
If a company, manager, exec, or leader can't exercise that kind of humility, then quite frankly they don't deserve the position.
Their onboarding processes all sucked.
Please stop with the cute HR nonsense. I'm not a kid. I don't need your cute program. We don't need someone reading 10 pages from your legally unenforceable handbook from a projector. Keep your gift bag; the squeeze ball is stupid and you didn't pick the pen. (Have you ever given a gift?) If you're going to lean into the sterile corporate decor, then at least hand me a clipboard and let me fill out paperwork just like I'm at the doctor's office.
If it sounds salty; it's supposed to. I hope a C-level, or business owner, takes it to heart. I'm not trying to beat you down. This first-impression is important--I took 10 minutes on a Saturday at 2:50AM to let you know. I've seen your "all-hands", your quarterlies, your launches, and your totally-not-Christmas parties.
You already know how to do better.