Organizational Clarity: "Confidential Survey" article

After reading this article about not completing the “confidential employee” survey, I realized although I have never been in a situation of having two dual entities warring to have me complete a survey to prove their points. I realized that whenever I was given a “confidential employee” survey, I did not complete it because I was always hounded (like the person in the article) to complete the survey. My question then was how confidential was it, if everyone and their mother knew I did not complete it?

I always wondered why organizations would use a “confidential” survey to create an illusion that this process is secret when is not. When a one-on-one with supervisors and their employees would, in fact, increase morale, improve human performance, and communication wherever the concentration existed. Creating this falsehood only disillusions the stakeholders of the organization and creates a breakdown of communication and trust. This is reaffirmed in the Forbes article listed below.

Add to that my studies within an Organizational Development program you start to understand when surveys such as this should be used and how unfortunately, it is not how most organizations use this tool. Instead of employee development and integrating employees into the organizational culture surveys are used to root out the “troublemakers” and to dissuade dissenting opinions or voices for needed change.

Rooting out these “troubled voices” in the eyes of the organization is cheaper and far easier than creating actual organizational change, than retraining managers and maintaining an atmosphere of cooperation. The hierarchy structure of most organizations is highly prized no matter how the organization states it is closer to the Clan structure characteristics with a “family” type atmosphere; no organization wants the inmates running the asylum. So there is no reason that any of us will see an end to these “confidential employee” surveys anytime soon.

This is the Forbes article which discusses how this gentleman will NOT participate in “confidential employee” surveys:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2017/02/21/no-i-wont-complete-the-confidential-employee-survey/#38020e856187