Is Whistleblowing getting out of hand in organisations?

• Whistleblowing is reporting the wrongdoing (transgressions) of one’s organisation to an external party, such as the authorities or the media.

We have seen a colossal development of whistleblowing initiatives in organisations, whistleblowing startups and technology development since The EU introduced the “Whistleblowing Directive” in 2019, a law requiring businesses to enable anonymous, confidential whistleblowing for their workers.?

Whistleblowing aims to expose corruption, toxicity, and other “proper” wrongdoing, but what about petty disputes, office politics, and other problematic behaviours that may not be criminal? - A critique of whistleblowing laws and programs is that they do little to classify workplace transgressions severely.?

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Why is whistleblowing a hot topic?

The “LuxLeaks” scandal of 2014 revealed that multinational corporations were using small companies in Luxembourg to channel funds and avoid tax laws. Following this scandal, it was revealed that many other corporations, such as Mcdonald's, Starbucks, and Amazon, were exploiting tax loopholes in European countries (Fitzgibbon, 2015).

Protecting whistleblowers via lawmaking may encourage people to speak out against large-scale corruption. This encouragement is sorely needed; according to the 2017 “Special Eurobarometer”, 81% of Europeans do not report corruption they have witnessed (European Commission, 2018).

On the other hand, some people worry that the Whistleblowing Directive will have negative consequences. Critics say that cultivating a whistleblowing culture gives too much authority to individuals who may be insufficiently informed to expose serious transgressions or may be motivated to report for purely self-interested reasons.

Is whistleblowing always the “right” thing to do?

Sometimes, a would-be whistleblower might feel morally obligated to remain silent. This bodes the question: if disclosing certain information has dire enough consequences, is it worth disclosing?

This was the argument in the prosecution of Edward Snowden, an American ex-pat who exposed the NSA’s dubious surveillance tactics. The United States government claims his whistleblowing put the country’s national security at risk.

Others are concerned that whistleblowing within the EU could become glamorised or even incentivised. Whistleblowers in the United States “can receive considerable financial rewards for exposing wrongdoing.” As such, incentivising whistleblowing can “shift the purpose of the reporting away from the public interest to the personal gain of whistleblowers … which may discredit whistleblowers in general”.

Is it illegal to be a jerk?

Correction: Are current definitions of “bad behaviour” exaggerated?

The British government has two Acts that make it an offence to send messages to co-workers causing “distress, annoyance, inconvenience, or needless anxiety” (Hern, 2022).

To some people, these laws cause concern. If combined with whistleblowing laws, will people be drawn into situations where they are prosecuted for being mean, yet not a criminal?

Being mean is not to be encouraged, but does meanness warrant large-scale investigation (designed for tax fraud and the like) and press coverage when a simple, internal conflict resolution could suffice?

Critics of the whistleblowing laws believe that it should be standard practice for a workplace to have internal reporting procedures. “Any subversion of the procedures,” says one such critique, “demands justification of why it was required and why alternative mechanisms could not fulfil the same role”.

In other words: whistleblowing should be a last resort, and we must ask ourselves whether someone is justified to blow the whistle if their supervisor is a micromanager, dictator, or a plain jerk. After all, being a jerk is not jet against the law.

This piece is written in cooperation with ContentAvenue, quality content and research made by real people, which is also reflected in the following extensive references. Check out ContentAvenue if you are also looking for quality content and research for your business.

References

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• Cotton, J. (2022). Benefits of ethical reporting tech. Report it now - global.
• Fitzgibbon, W. (2015). ‘Fundamental change' in EU tax rules after LuxLeaks. International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
• European Commission (2018). DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the protection of persons reporting on breaches of Union law. European Commission.
• Finn, P., & Horwitz, S. (2013). U.S. charges Snowden with espionage. The washington post.
• Dalby, D., & Bowers, S. (2019). LUX LEAKS, PANAMA PAPERS SPUR EU TO BETTER PROTECT WHISTLEBLOWERS. International Consortium of Investigative Journalists..
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• Dalby, D. & Bowers, S. (2019, April 18). LUX LEAKS, PANAMA PAPERS SPUR EU TO BETTER PROTECT WHISTLEBLOWERS. International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.