Blow up
Why are employees so afraid of whistleblowing?Following the recent accounting scandal at Tesco, the supermarket giant has set up a confidential phone line for employees to report suspected irregularities.
It’s part of a trend in which organisations are getting serious about creating an environment in which staff feel comfortable ‘blowing the whistle’ on fellow employees they suspect of wrongdoing.
But why do employees feel reluctant about reporting misconduct by fellow workers? What are the potential implications for organisations if their staff don’t feel able to speak up?
And what is the latest thinking on practical steps to encourage and support employees who have concerning issues to report to senior management?
Whistle-stop
There are already laws in place to protect whistleblowers. In the UK for example, The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 means workers who are dismissed because of whistleblowing are able to claim unfair dismissal.
Under this law, people can speak out against malpractice in an organisation if their disclosure ‘is in the public interest’. It covers revelations about any behaviour that includes criminal offences, breaches of a legal obligation, miscarriages of justice and dangers to the health and safety of any individual.
Unfortunately, many people still feel very apprehensive about voicing concerns. They often fear reprisals, are worried about job security or just believe speaking up won’t make any difference.
For instance, the recent Freedom to Speak up Review gives examples of NHS staff who were put off from reporting bad practice or issues relating to patient safety because they “fear victimisation” or feel they won’t be listened to.
The review quotes stories of employees facing isolation, bullying and counter-allegations after they had reported unacceptable behaviour by other staff. In some extreme cases when they had been brave enough to speak up ‘their lives had been ruined’.
This is backed up by research from whistleblowing charity Public Concern at Work. It found that the “vast majority of whistleblowers say they have received no response from management and their concern is ignored at point of contact”.
In a study of 1000 whistleblowers, the charity found that 83% of individuals will typically only raise a concern twice – firstly with line and then with middle management – before giving up.
The research reveals that the most common response to whistleblowing individuals was that their employers took some sort of formal action short of dismissing them. These actions included demotion, suspension or disciplinary action.
Part of the problem is the strong cultural bias in our society against whistleblowing. From the time we are schoolchildren we pick up on the negative perceptions surrounding those who ‘tell tales’ when other children are naughty.
This feeling stays with us as we get older. Even as adults, people can find it difficult to speak up if they see others doing something wrong in the workplace.
Whistle for it
Business leaders need to understand that failing to create an atmosphere that enables whistleblowing can potentially mean significant costs.
If people don’t feel able to report things to you, this can have a negative impact on their own morale and productivity. That’s a feeling that can quickly spread to others.
Of course, if employees feel forced to leave because they can’t stomach wrongdoing in the workplace, they may report their concerns to the legal authorities, industry bodies or even the media.
There could be a risk of substantial damage to a company’s brand reputation, not to mention potential legal repercussions.
By making it easier for employees to speak up, you increase the chance that any misconduct can be identified earlier – and dealt with internally, rather than externally.
Give a little whistle
Organisations such as Tesco and the NHS have shown that failing to provide adequate support for whistleblowing can lead to extremely serious consequences.
They’re among those who are keen to make changes so that employees feel empowered to speak up. There are a variety of steps that can help, including:
- Setting up whistleblowing hotlines
- Creating documented processes and policies within employee handbooks
- Training managers and supervisors on how to support employees who decide to voice concerns
- Ensuring the organisation reports back to employees who have been brave enough to voice a concern
Introducing policies such as these can help encourage openness. They certainly send out a clear message to staff that activities such as fraud, breaches of industry regulations, bullying and discrimination won’t be tolerated.
It can also help staff to feel well supported and make a positive contribution to staff engagement and retention.
Whistling in the dark
But many workers can still feel insecure and reluctant about revealing misconduct. There’s a growing realisation that for these employees, you need to provide a way for them to raise their concerns anonymously.
Some organisations have set up confidential telephone hotlines to try to address the issue of anonymity. However, picking up the phone and having a one-on-one conversation can still feel intimate, and nerve wracking.
An emerging trend is to use online survey and feedback collection technology to protect the whistleblower’s identity without compromising the detail and depth of reported information.
One example of this is a programme used within a government department of a Scandinavian country. The department is using a modified version of an online tool for collecting employee feedback and surveys. The technology has been adapted to allow employees to schedule an online chat conversation with a moderator to report their concerns.
They can select full anonymity for their chat session, which also masks their IP address so comments cannot be traced back to their computer.
Chat can feel sufficiently impersonal for people to feel comfortable revealing what they know. They can also use a secure anonymous facility to upload documents to support the issue they are reporting.
Clean as a whistle?
The Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority have recently published a joint consultation paper on a series of measures to formalise whistleblowing procedures in firms.
This trend is spreading throughout all industry sectors, with business leaders increasingly aware of the need to create an open culture which promotes transparency in which staff feel at ease voicing concerns about any suspected wrongdoing.
In the long run it can promote a safer and happier working culture in which all employees act responsibly, for the greater good.
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