The Lie of the Open-Door Policy

They say the door is always open—but to whom, and for what?

In the corridors of corporate life, there exists a quiet myth, draped in the language of accessibility and inclusion: the open-door policy. It promises transparency, encourages dialogue, and seduces the naive with the illusion that voices—any voices—matter. But behind every open door lies a closed system, impermeable to truths that threaten its equilibrium.

The open-door policy isn't about openness. It’s a mechanism of control. A pressure valve to let off steam, a way for management to pretend to listen while the machinery of the institution grinds on, indifferent. You’re invited to speak, but not to be heard. Your words dissolve into the walls, absorbed and forgotten, as if never spoken at all.

The real decisions? They don’t happen in offices with open doors. They unfold behind closed ones, in whispered conversations after hours, in exclusive meetings where the uninvited are the unwelcome. The open-door policy is a stage, and you—the well-meaning employee—are part of the performance. You believe you're participating in something democratic, but you're merely a spectator of your own illusion.

Why does this charade persist? Because it pacifies. It gives workers just enough hope to stay quiet, to believe in a system that never really believed in them. It turns potential dissent into polite conversations and transforms genuine grievances into “feedback” that disappears into the ether. It’s not designed to change the system—it’s designed to preserve it.

And yet, many cling to the open-door ideal, hoping that their words might ripple through the hierarchy, touching the untouchable. But in corporate life, change rarely comes from inside the system. Systems, by nature, resist change. They are built to self-sustain, to absorb shocks without altering their course. If you think you're the exception, you’re not. You're part of the design.

So, the next time you're invited to “share your thoughts,” ask yourself: Are you being heard, or are you just echoing into a void dressed up as opportunity? Perhaps the only doors worth walking through are the ones you open for yourself.