This Website Lets Disgruntled Employees Shame Companies That Won’t Let Them Work From Home

This article originally appeared on VICE Indonesia.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, prompting governments worldwide to implement full-scale lockdowns or adopt study and work from home policies in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Considering that infected individuals may be asymptomatic, it’s now more crucial than ever to practice social distancing. Despite the worsening situation, not all companies are prepared or willing to prioritise the health of their employees.

Some are forced to go to the office or are threatened with a pay cut or leave deduction if they choose to stay home. In fear of losing their jobs, many employees have no choice but to stay quiet and keep working as usual.

Enter Shame Your Company, an anonymous website that publicly identified and shamed companies that allegedly prioritise profits over the health of their workers.

Users could click the red “Shame Anonymously” button and enter their company’s name and why they refuse to close offices. The submission will then appear on the website’s Wall of Shame.

Employees could click on their company if it was already on the Wall of Shame, to indicate that they’ve experienced something similar. The more clicks a company had, the higher up the Wall of Shame it climbed. The Wall of Shame detailed all the complaints under each company and users could leave anonymous comments.

If things improved in their workplace, users could update Shame Your Company through a Google Form under the “Contact Us” page.

However, as of writing, the website is temporarily closed.

“Over the past week, over 20,000 people have visited, sharing over 350 stories–the majority of which were honest and well-intentioned. Unfortunately it's been a lot of work to filter out spam posts, and we've decided to turn the site off for now,” the website's homepage says. Shame Your Company has not disclosed its verification or moderation practices.

Companies that refuse to let their employees quarantine themselves pose significant threat to public health, especially when the coronavirus pandemic shows no signs of slowing down. But while providing people with a Post Secret-like platform could provide a needed emotional outlet, such a website could also be a breeding ground for false accusations.