• Glassdoor recently launched its newest feature, Company Bowls.
  • Company Bowls are forums that allow people to anonymously talk about companies and industries.
  • The feature will compete directly against the anonymous workplace forum, Blind.

There's a new virtual water cooler where employees can gossip with their colleagues.

As part of a larger rebranding, Glassdoor recently announced Company Bowls, which are new forums that allow you to anonymously talk to co-workers and managers about the job, with less fear of repercussions.

When you enter a "bowl," as Glassdoor calls it, you can choose your level of anonymity before posting. You can either use your real name, your job title, or go completely anonymous, only showing the company you work for. You do however, need to submit your full name and work email in order to access the forums. 

Glassdoor prompts you to enter your full name and company email to enter Company Bowls/
Seemingly, you do need to enter your work email address to verify entry into your Company Bowl.
Haley Tenore/Business Insider

Glassdoor CEO Christian Sutherland-Wong said in the announcement that Company Bowls can also help executives gauge how employees are feeling in real-time, without having to send out surveys. There will also be bowls for different industries, like law, healthcare, and technology, as well as interest groups, like groups for underrepresented communities, like women and people of color, working parents, or remote workers. 

A Glassdoor survey of 1,243 employed US adults conducted by The Harris Poll in June indicated that 68% of those surveyed want to ask anonymous questions to their employers and colleagues.

Bowls is aimed right at Blind

The launch of Company Bowls means that the online workplace forum Blind has some new competition. Blind was founded in 2013 as a sort of "anti-LinkedIn," an anonymous forum for employees to either exchange lighthearted gossip or discuss more serious issues like layoffs, salaries, and workplace conditions.

Blind says its app has over 7 million "verified professionals" at over 300,000 companies. Users can sign up with either their personal or work email, but work emails give employees access to more of the app's tools. The app also allows users to enter private group chats with other workers.

Glassdoor's bowls will function similarly to Fishbowl, which Glassdoor acquired in 2021. Fishbowl also allowed for anonymous, workplace-related discussions.

Company Bowls are rolling out now to users across the Glassdoor website and app. Sutherland-Wong told TechCrunch that Glassdoor is creating new bowls automatically once an unspecified threshold of employees for a company is reached.

This story was originally published by Glassdoor.