A survey of whistleblowing in the public and private sectors has found that many whistleblowers end up being treated badly for their efforts.
Supported by the Governance Institute, the Whistling While They Work 2 (WWTW2) research project led by Griffith University found that 42 per cent of whistleblowers were treated badly by their organisations and 81 per cent of whistleblowing cases resulted in negative repercussions.
The institute has called for whistleblower protection laws to be introduced.
Acting Chief Executive at the Governance Institute, Meegan George said whistleblower protection was one of the top ranking ethical issues in the Governance Institute Ethics Index 2018.
“With new whistleblowing legislation already introduced to Federal Parliament and in light of the Banking Royal Commission, organisations need a clear understanding of the best approaches to take to protect whistleblowers,” Ms George said.
She said the report found that if organisations effectively managed whistleblowing internally, there appeared to be reduced repercussions for whistleblowers.
“Whistleblower protection needs to be understood at a cultural level across every organization,” Ms George said.
“A robust whistleblowing process that makes employees feel comfortable with reporting wrongdoing is critical to building an ethical culture that supports strong corporate outcomes,” she said.
“The research demonstrates that organisations support having whistleblowing policies in place, but the reality is that whistleblowers are often not well treated.”
The report draws on the experiences of 17,778 individuals across 46 organisations in Australia and New Zealand, finding that in at least 34 per cent of cases, the whistleblower suffered harassment and/or direct adverse employment impacts.
“Despite this, the researchers found there is a broad consensus in both the private and public sectors that reporting suspected wrongdoing is vital to the ongoing success of organisations,” Ms George said.
“The report highlighted the importance of risk assessment and proactive management,” she said.
“The earlier the risk is assessed, the better the treatment of whistleblowers.”
The 11- page summary of survey results can be accessed at this PS News link.
