Whistle blowing – should you or shouldn’t you?

The term itself often invokes an uneasy feeling as there is a link in many people’s minds that connects whistle blowers to informants, collaborators and snitches. This continues to foster a climate of stigmatisation rather than the understanding that whistle blowing is really about promoting individual responsibility and organisational accountability.

There are two types of whistle blowing; one that is internal where an employee takes his or her concern to people within the offending organisation; the other is external where allegations of wrongdoing are taken to outside parties such as law enforcement, press, or regulatory bodies. Misconduct would include:

• • Criminal offences

• • Failure to comply with legal obligations

• • Environmental damage

• • Unfair discrimination.

Evidence shows that misconduct of a fellow employee within an organisation is most likely to be reported where there are specific complaints systems in place. From that standpoint an effective whistle-blowing policy should therefore be viewed as an early warning system that includes and encourages:

• • Accountability and openness

• • Responsibility

• • Sound corporate governance

• • Risk management

• • Self-regulation.

This first line of defence has the capacity to limit exposure and damage from potentially catastrophic situations while reinforcing the perception that whistle blowing can be seen as an expression of loyalty rather than the opposite as has so often been the case.

For the whistle blower, the results have frequently been far from those expected, with reprisals, dismissal and even legal action coming his or her way as opposed to the changes or appreciation anticipated. There is a general perception that organisations are unwilling to promote a meaningful culture of openness where legitimate concerns can safely be raised by employees to those empowered to address them, so legislators have felt compelled to step in to regulate the treatment of whistleblowers. This resulted in numerous so-called whistle-blowers’ charters being put in place around the world, seeking to protect employees who identify a serious wrong being carried out by their employer and speak out about it. Also, in the wake of the recent global financial meltdown, some governments have fast-tracked legislation giving blanket legal protection to whistle blowers who report corruption to the appropriate authorities, and there are countries considering laws to make it an offence to know about misconduct or malpractice and not report it.

In reality, both as individuals and collectively we all need more whistle blowers to come forward and expose organisational wrongdoing and malpractice. However, until there is widespread trust and confidence in the protection systems in place, only strong-willed and determined people will expose themselves to the perceived dangers of whistle blowing.