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People Are Anonymously Revealing Secrets From Their Jobs That They Aren’t Supposed To Share (30 Answers)
Most companies require their employees to agree to some level of confidentiality. Whether you work for a retail store or a powerful tech company, you probably signed paperwork prior to your first day limiting what you’re allowed to share with friends and family, on social media, and more. But as the public, we’re naturally curious about companies’ practices and what goes on behind the scenes. Lucky for us, many current and former employees are happy to satiate our curiosity.
We’ve gathered a list of some of the most eye-opening bits of insider information people have shared on Reddit, some of which are certain to change the way you view these industries. So enjoy this list, and let us know in the comments if you have any juicy secrets about your profession that you can share with us. Then if you’re looking for even more insider information from businesses, check out Bored Panda’s last publication on the same topic right here.
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#1
Emergency room doctor here.
I really do want you to get better, I really want you to not die. I get spat on and cursed at and am the recipient of several stink eyes daily. If you actually show that you care about your health and listen to me or show me the slightest bit of respect I will bend over backwards to help you get better.
If I'm not sending you home with a six month supply of dilaudid it's because you are better off without it. I'm sorry you have a boxer's fracture because you punched your door, but fractures hurt and I can't take all the pain away and keep you breathing at the same time. Man up and deal with a few days of discomfort, it goes away eventually.
I ask probing questions about your sexuality and drug history and the consistency of your poop because its important. I am legally prevented from sharing this info with your boss, your wife, the police. Just tell me the truth. The guy on the other side of the curtain has a curling iron stuck up his ass, the herpes you got in high school doesn't shock me.
My paycheck is my paycheck. I don't get paid more or less because I prescribe a name brand antibiotic, or decide to do stitches instead of glue, or admit you instead of letting you leave AMA. I get paid the same if I see one patient this shift or forty, most of my decisions are based on medicine, or to decrease the chances of getting sued. This isn't true for every doctor or even every emergency doctor, but consider giving your physician the benefit of the doubt.
Wilko Lunenburg 2 years ago
My GP has saved my sons life and my life, I trust her with everything.
It’s understandable for companies to desire a certain level of privacy, but this day in age, when we have unlimited access to the internet, it might be more beneficial for businesses to be transparent. Former employees have more resources than ever before to call out companies and spill secrets, especially if they are bitter about the way they left a job.
But it’s in our nature to keep secrets and to be curious about the secrets others are holding. Psychologist Michael Slepian broke down the hidden world of secrets in a piece for the American Psychological Association and revealed that there are 38 common categories of secrets people keep, “ranging from infidelity and illegal behavior to pregnancy and planned surprises for others”. “We all keep the same kinds of secrets,” he said. “About 97% of people have a secret in at least one of those categories, and the average person is currently keeping secrets in 13 of those categories.”
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#2
McGraw Hill makes practically every text book allowed in america's school. At the end of every year they throw away the tens of thousands of books for the tax write off because it's going to a recycling plant.
I am talking text book for k thru 12, college books of every type, teacher editions, and class sets of short stories and books for kids in process of learning to read. A normal text book costs a school 60 to 80 bucks a pop, but they throw enough away to educate every child in Africa.
When I worked at the recycling plant I wasn't allowed to take them because it was considered illegal to distribute them.
I truly lost all hope for the future of humanity after that. And quit my job.
Ivana Bašić 2 years ago
There should be a penalty for disposing of them in any way if there's nothing wrong with them. Stuff like this should be treated like fast fashion.
Slepian went on to explain that, although we all do it, keeping secrets can be a burden. “It’s not how much you hide a secret that’s harmful, but how often you find yourself thinking about it,” he says. Apparently secrets that we feel shameful about are the ones we tend to dwell on the most. Slepian then makes an important distinction between shame and guilt. “Guilt is more adaptive. When you feel guilty, you can make amends or decide to do something differently next time,” he explains. “Shame is more about feeling like a bad person. It can make you feel helpless or powerless.”
Having someone to confide in can help lessen the weight of a secret, Slepian notes. The conflict of wanting to protect ourselves while simultaneously wanting the weight off our chests is what can cause inner turmoil. But according to a study Slepian conducted with online participants, “Confiding a secret predicted improved well-being, both because the participant received social support and because the act of revealing the secret seemed to minimize the amount of time the person spent thinking about it.”
#3
Diamonds should be worth much less than people pay for them.
Ivana Bašić 2 years ago
I don't get how they have any value at all. Someone convinced people having something shiny on their hand is a good thing and now they're going bankrupt to pay for it.
#4
I was a deep sea diver for 10 years in the Gulf of Mexico. Huge oil spills happen and are covered up hundreds of times a year by every company. The entire industry is in on it. The bottom of the gulf is a disgusting garbage dump. Every boat dumps their trash into the gulf no one obeys the laws and the coast guard doesn't enforce s**t.
Aside from taking a load off our shoulders, sharing secrets can also strengthen our relationships. Postdoctoral researcher Sarah Ward mentions that, “Sharing secrets is often a way to build trust or closeness. Knowing which people tend to share can help to identify who is likely to build close relationships, and who might be missing opportunities to foster closeness and trust.” She went on to note that people who are particularly polite tend to be less willing to share secrets, but this can be a hindrance for them. Ward mentions that these people “might be missing out on an opportunity to get comfort or relief from other people, which could alleviate their negative emotions”.
#5
It feels like it shouldn't be a secret, but a lot of people just don't get it. If you find yourself waiting forever to be seen in the ER, that's probably a very good thing. We get the serious stuff back there pretty dang quick.
Edit: For clarity's sake, a whole lot of pain doesn't automatically make something serious. A broken arm or something hurts like hell, but we're going to take the guy who's sweating and says his chest feels a little tight before you. Because he might be dying and you definitely aren't.
#6
A bottle of Windex is basically 95% water 4% ammonia, and 1% blue dye / fragrance. The most expensive part of the product is the bottle.
When it comes to company secrets, they often seem to be locked up in a vault. But with social media, employees can now expose employers for keeping toxic behavior and practices behind closed doors. Throughout the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement in recent years, many companies have been called out for racist practices, including Tesla and Amazon.
Earlier this year, former employees of a Tesla plant in California filed the largest racial discrimination suit the state has ever seen. The lawsuit, which is on behalf of 4,000 former employees, details a horrifying environment where Black workers were constantly called slurs, placed in a corner of the factory that was referred to as “the plantation” and repeatedly subjected to unsafe working conditions. The employees shared that after informing the company and complaining about racist treatment, their concerns were brushed under the rug.
#7
As call center employee I can assure you that ALL of our calls are recorded not for training purposes, but to protect our own a**es.
Spellflinger 2 years ago (edited)
And if you insist we will review the call but in my experience 99.99% of the time the call did not go as you remembered it.
#8
I work in the space industry and I am happy to report that there are no tricks here, everything must work with multiple redundant systems.
#9
Record labels and producers sometimes use 'ghost vocalists' for pop stars who really can't sing. Ghost vocalists are like singing impressionists who come into the studio and re-sing the song in the style of the popstar, but better. Often the popstars in question don't even know that their vocals have been replaced.
Oh and, for the record (no pun), terrible singers can't be fixed with autotune, it is only used to polish slightly untidy vocals. This is why ghost vocalists are used.
Nimues Child 2 years ago
Marni Nixon was one of the best of these for film. The list of actresses whose singing she ghosted is impressive.
Amazon has also come under fire in recent years for fostering a culture that's less welcoming for Black employees. Recode published a piece in 2021 dissecting some of Amazon's issues to make the public more aware of what's happening within the company. Interviews with former employees and diversity managers frequently reported that Black Amazon employees are "promoted less frequently and rated more harshly than non-Black peers". In 2018, only 14.5% of Black employees received a "top-tier" rating for their work at Amazon, compared to 21.8% of white employees.
A current Amazon diversity manager even told Recode, "We struggle to bring [Black] folks in because there’s not a whole lot of desire, in my opinion, to go outside of our normal practices. And then when they do get here, it’s harder to get promoted, harder to get top-tier rated, and easier to get lowest-tier. All those things combined make it so folks don’t wanna stay. And folks will leave Amazon and go take on more senior roles elsewhere.” While that quote was followed up by Amazon spokesperson Jaci Anderson disagreeing that it was representative of the company and providing a more politically correct statement, that diversity manager's quote still speaks for at least one person's opinion.
#10
From my former job: The US military has a tradition where you spend your entire budget by Oct (the new fiscal year) or you risk losing that portion of your budget. I've been in units that would go out and purchase $200,000 worth of useless s**t just to avoid having a budget surplus. Multiply by the number of units in the military (a s**t ton) and you have all your fraud, waste and abuse.
#11
Patient confidentiality just means your name isn't in the story, not that your story won't get told.
#12
I work in visual effects for large hollywood movies. We do so much digital cleanup and enhancement of practical effects, yet get no credit for how it looks. We only get s**t on when a director or studio forces us to make cartoony CG characters or un-photorealistic backgrounds. We're the only department that doesn't have a union, yet we're in charge of upwards of half the movie's budget. Life of Pi was shot mostly on green screen, yet the cinematographer got an Oscar, even though most of those shots were created later in VFX without his input
Metalhead Turtle 🇺🇦 2 years ago
Visual effects folks do amazing work and are underappreciated.
Contrary to what they might believe, increasing transparency might even be beneficial for companies. (Assuming they’re not doing anything sketchy or illegal…) Michael Weinhouse, a Forbes Councils member, reports that being upfront with clients and customers actually sets businesses up for success. It can also increase companies’ efficiency. “For example, we give our clients access to a reporting dashboard that allows them to see exactly what we’re doing for them. As a result, we don’t waste time shaping and packaging our results to look better than they actually are. Similarly, because we set realistic expectations with customers from the start, we don’t need to spend time making excuses for why we weren’t able to achieve unrealistic goals.”
Lastly, Weinhouse notes that honesty builds trust with customers. He mentions how social media and review sites make it harder for companies to conceal secrets, so they might as well own their truths. “Every company has a choice to make. Do you put on a show and hope the facts about your business don’t come out? Or do you own those facts and put them to work for both you and your customers?”
#13
Your children tell us nearly everything about what goes on in your home.
Source: Preschool Teacher
Ivana Bašić 2 years ago
They also tell us everything you ate, said or all the faces you made at school, and how often they see you smoking around the corner. So I guess we're even.
#14
Casino dealers really do want the players to win. We don't work for the house. We get paid s**t hourly rates and rely on tips. Unless the player is super nice, they only tip if they win, so we really do want you to win.
#15
Nursing homes somehow always know when they are going to be visited by the state. They have plenty of time to get their s**t together, overstaff for days. The administrators and office people will actually work on the floor that would never do otherwise. Things are great until the moment the state reps leave then you're back to being understaffed and overworked. Its a common complaint but people are absolutely not getting the care they need.
Kiss Army 2 years ago
Absolutely... and I lost my sh!t when I complained at my FIL's nursing home because his depends were soaked to the point that his t-shirt and the bed was even covered in dried urine and her excuse was that he was "not assisting in his own care". He had Alzheimer's, Dementia and Stage 3 Lung Cancer, there was extremely little he could do to "assist in his own care".
Some companies, however, are notorious for concealing great amounts of information from the public, and act swiftly to punish any employees who might compromise their secrecy. Silicon Valley’s tech giants are great examples of such companies, including Facebook and Google. In a piece by the Guardian examining this topic, former employees of Google and Facebook divulged some of the frightening reactions the companies have to any hint of disloyalty.
One former Facebook employee described an interrogation he received after leaking some inside information to a journalist. There was no need for the questioning, however, because the “rat-catching team” had records of the screenshots, links he had clicked or hovered over, and access to the chats between him and the journalist even before he had started working there. “It’s horrifying how much they know,” he told the Guardian. “You go into Facebook and it has this warm, fuzzy feeling of ‘we’re changing the world’ and ‘we care about things’. But you get on their bad side and all of a sudden you are face to face with Mark Zuckerberg’s secret police.”
#16
Juries can return a not guilty verdict even if they agree that the defendant broke the law, if they feel the law itself is unjust. This is referred to as jury nullification and judges do not want jurors to know about it, even going so far as to hold people handing out literature about it in front of courthouses in contempt of court.
Luis Hernandez Dauajare 2 years ago
Furthermore: knowing this can technically exempt you from jury duty, and telling anyone while on jury duty can land you in jail. Also, if the person who posted this an attorney in the United States, he/she can be disbarred.
#17
I am a professional tattooist.
Many of my peers tell customers how expensive the supplies are, saying that just a basic setup to do one tattoo costs like $30-$50.
It costs more like about $3.00. Including everything I can factor into it, including rent and bills.
Needles cost less than 50 cents usually.
A big bottle of black ink lasts me 6 months or so and costs $20.
We don't charge so much because the supplies are expensive and I wish my peers would stop saying that, it's a cop-out. We charge so much because it's a difficult skill to learn and we deserve to be compensated as tradesmen.
Also the hourly rate for tattooing has hovered around $100/hr for 27 years, since 1989. Tell me one other thing that costs the same as it did in 1989.
And in 1989, the needles were far more expensive because the Chinese factories hadn't started making them yet. They cost over a dollar each in 1989.
We tattooers make less money than ever, but it isn't because of the cost of supplies.
Nikki Sevven 2 years ago
I'm happy to pay the "expensive" price for the skills of an artist and craftsman dedicated to his craft. I mean, it's permanent.
“When you first get to Facebook you are shocked at the level of transparency. You are trusted with a lot of stuff you don’t need access to,” said the former Facebook employee. “The counterbalance to giving you this huge trusting environment is if anyone steps out of line, they’ll squash you like a bug.”
Former employees also mentioned a meeting in 2015 where Zuckerberg addressed a leak about Facebook’s new messaging assistant. “We’re going to find the leaker, and we’re going to fire them,” the CEO told employees. A week later, the mole had been caught and fired, and employees in the meeting celebrated.
#19
Midway games at carnivals or fairs purposely let people win early on in the day. This way people carry around the prizes and advertise them for the rest of the day.
#20
You use too much dawn dish soap. That stuff is ridiculously concentrated.
#21
In sofa/couch commercials they use smaller actors/models to make the sofas/couches look bigger.
Employees of Facebook’s European headquarters in Dublin have also mentioned the toxic culture of paranoia that exists in their offices. One employee told the Guardian he signed a contract granting the company “the right to monitor and record his social media activities, including his personal Facebook account, as well as emails, phone calls and internet use” and agreed to “random personal searches of his belongings including bags, briefcases and car while on company premises”.
He also mentioned that security teams would leave “mouse traps” to test employee loyalty. For example, a USB key containing data would be left somewhere waiting for an employee to turn it in. If the USB was plugged into a computer, it would immediately alert security and whoever plugged it in would be escorted out of the building. Employees even mentioned they would message one another in codes for fear of being monitored constantly.
#22
It is impossible to crawl through ventilation shafts. Professional duct worker here.
#23
Funeral home worker for 5 years.
That casket has a huge markup and it is illegal for a funeral home to not let you source your own casket. In my area Amish make them and their prices run from reasonable to unreasonable and here's another tip - Walmart sells caskets. They are still slightly overpriced but usually better than what your director is probably selling.
Shop your casket options.
NHL37 2 years ago
As uncomfortable as it may be, plan ahead. Unfortunately the funeral industry takes advantage of people in a time of grief. There are always affordable options, they just don’t want to show you those. Instead they sell you all kinds of upgrades no one needs because only the best for dear mom and you don’t want to feel like a cheapskate. Also, in most cases you don’t need embalming either.
#24
I keep reading that advertising is leading people to be more woke or multicultural. Companies don’t lead; they follow. They do lots of research and know where the future markets are. I worked for a very conservative global brand. Five years before gay marriage became legal, they told us it would happen, and we needed to start targeting the LBGTQ community.
If you’re interested in a documentary exposing company secrets, you’re in luck. There are plenty available online. Netflix’s collection includes White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch, Rotten (which exposes truths about the food industry), Take Your Pills, What the Health, and more. Other groundbreaking documentaries exposing corporations that can be found on other sites are Roger and Me (Michael Moore’s film following his attempt to track down the CEO of General Motors), Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, The True Cost (which examines fast fashion), and Crude (which details the 2006 class action lawsuit against Chevron in Ecuador).
#25
The groundbreaking scientific results published by the mainstream media bear little resemblance to the results published in the actual scientific article.
M O'Connell 2 years ago
Reporters are not scientists. They're trying to make a relatable summary out of a relatable summary of the abstract of a scientific article.
#26
Not sure if this is an industry practise, but a very popular online retail company in my country has no in-house web designers or any other IT staff beyond your generic networking techs. Any time their website or backend systems need work they simply advertise a permanent position and give the job of sorting out whatever they need done as a "trial" for the candidate. Once completed, they then inform them that the position is no longer available and send them on their way. They've been doing this for years.
#27
Monday's chowder is the weekend's seafood leftovers.
Edit: To answer some questions, yes this is just one example of the overall theme in most restaurants: ZERO WASTE! Any veg trimmings, chicken trimmings, beef bones get boiled to stock. Left over entrées are usually tomorrow's open-faced lunch sammy special. Plastic containers are cut in half so everything is able to be scraped out. Second only to quality and consistency of food, zero waste is the credo to live by.
It’s hard to say if transparency between businesses and consumers will continue increasing over time, but one thing that’s certain is our never-ending curiosity about what we don’t know. Customers deserve to understand what they’re supporting though, so it’s great for people to have platforms like Reddit to share these insider secrets. Don’t forget to upvote the secrets you found most shocking, and let us know in the comments if you have any industry secrets you can share with your fellow pandas!
#28
How f**king often bodily fluids get on food, and I mean intentionally. Wash your damn produce.
Roadkill The Brave 2 years ago
I wash everything even iceburg lettuce. Friend of mine was over and he was baffled that I was washing the lettuce. He stood by the sink mystified that I was washing water with water and didn't understand the point of washing everything that had touched it from the moment it sprouted in from the ground.
#29
I work in a shipping company. I'm a merchant marine engineer working on mega container ships. Lot of unethical shipping companies. They dump a lot of garbage, oily sludge, waste, contaminated water, and oil out when sailing in international waters far away from the shore because it's cheaper to do that than land the waste to correct shore reception facilities. There are only a few handful of players (I can count them on my fingertips) today who are actually executing business trades, while still keeping the carbon footprint and environment as one of their core policies.
Nimues Child 2 years ago
I'd love to know the names of those companies so we can catch them being good.
#30
Printer ink cartridges are meant to signal that they're empty after a certain number of pages, even if they still have some ink left.
GODDAMMIT ALL THAT INK I WASTED
What do you think ?
Shane S 2 years ago (edited)
Your health insurance company, whether it be private or through the government knows everything about you. There’s a code for everything- your current condition, your habits, past addictions, family and personal health history, STDs, sexual preference (if it’s ever been discussed in a drs office), and much more. Your doctor’s staff encode all the details of your visit onto claim forms which get submitted to your insurance. Insurance (again private or government) can also request your medical records. Insurance can then data mine the data to determine what your risks are in an effort to try to keep you healthy. I.E. they know you have diabetes and live alone so you may need tips on healthy eating. They know you have high blood pressure but also an alcohol problem, so they need to make sure your pharmacy claims indicate you're taking your meds and also recommend rehab programs. Etc etc and on and on. This is why a health insurance data breach is a BIG DEAL.
Michael Se 2 years ago
At Whole Foods, they made us bake off more bread so the shelves looked full two hours before closing. The rich snobs can't be allowed to think they're getting the bottom of the barrel at 8pm on a Tuesday. And then once everyone was out of the store... they made us throw. it. all. away. every. night. Gallons upon gallons of soup thrown away every night, too. Whole Foods is joke, and anyone who shops there deserves to get their money taken from them. The bakery is filled with the exact same product as a regular grocery store bakery, you're just being charged to cover the cost of all the food that's thrown away at the end of the day. It's gross.
SoozeeQ 2 years ago
Why don't they give it to a homeless or domestic violence shelter? So much needless waste.
Load More Replies...
Miguel justino C 2 years ago
I worked as a fly fishing guide for years and it’s a very hard skill that takes years of practice. The number of people that think watching A River runs through it makes them an expert was frustrating. If you didn’t catch a fish with me you’re not listening.
Shane S 2 years ago (edited)
Your health insurance company, whether it be private or through the government knows everything about you. There’s a code for everything- your current condition, your habits, past addictions, family and personal health history, STDs, sexual preference (if it’s ever been discussed in a drs office), and much more. Your doctor’s staff encode all the details of your visit onto claim forms which get submitted to your insurance. Insurance (again private or government) can also request your medical records. Insurance can then data mine the data to determine what your risks are in an effort to try to keep you healthy. I.E. they know you have diabetes and live alone so you may need tips on healthy eating. They know you have high blood pressure but also an alcohol problem, so they need to make sure your pharmacy claims indicate you're taking your meds and also recommend rehab programs. Etc etc and on and on. This is why a health insurance data breach is a BIG DEAL.
Michael Se 2 years ago
At Whole Foods, they made us bake off more bread so the shelves looked full two hours before closing. The rich snobs can't be allowed to think they're getting the bottom of the barrel at 8pm on a Tuesday. And then once everyone was out of the store... they made us throw. it. all. away. every. night. Gallons upon gallons of soup thrown away every night, too. Whole Foods is joke, and anyone who shops there deserves to get their money taken from them. The bakery is filled with the exact same product as a regular grocery store bakery, you're just being charged to cover the cost of all the food that's thrown away at the end of the day. It's gross.
SoozeeQ 2 years ago
Why don't they give it to a homeless or domestic violence shelter? So much needless waste.
Load More Replies... Miguel justino C 2 years ago
I worked as a fly fishing guide for years and it’s a very hard skill that takes years of practice. The number of people that think watching A River runs through it makes them an expert was frustrating. If you didn’t catch a fish with me you’re not listening.
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