Elletta Sangrey Callahan

Employee attitudes toward whistleblowing: Management and public policy implications

AbstractManagers of organizations should be aware of the attitudes of employees concerning whistleblowing. Employee views should affect how employers choose to respond to whistleblowers through the evolving law of wrongful discharge.This article reports on a survey of employee attitudes toward the legal protection of whistleblowers and presents an analysis of the results of that survey.Among the most significant findings of the survey are:(1)Recognition by employees of a hierarchy of proper whistleblowing outlets: internal first, law enforcement agencies second, and news media last.(2)Less employee support for legal protection for whistleblowers who report unethical activities than for those who report illegal conduct.(3)Very strong overall employee support for legal protection of whistleblowers, even among managerial and supervisory employees.(4)A belief among employees that a fear of being fired deters whistleblowing. These findings have important implications for both management and public policy. Organizations that want to encourage whistleblowing clearly must protect whistleblowers from retaliation, while organizations that do not encourage whistleblowing may want to reconsider that policy. The survey results also have implications in the handling of individual whistleblowers.From a public policy perspective, the survey results provide support for increasing the legal protection of whistleblowers. On the other hand, any such increase in whistleblower protection should considerr the importance of employee loyalty and managerial discretion.