A whistle-blower refers to an employee working in a public, private or government organization who discloses any illicit or illegal information.
Around 83% of the whistle-blowers report the allegations internally to some superior or HR department in the hopes that they will get it rectified while others report it externally to a third party such as media, police or government.
Since this activity could lead to job insecurity for whistle-blowers, several laws are established for their protection. Some companies even lay down guidelines on how to report such incidents. One also needs to support their claims with credible evidence else the case would never be reported via media legally.
Though it may seem like an ethical act, whistle-blowing may lead to the breakdown of trust and retaliation and hostility from other employees who may feel betrayed.
When whistle-blowers may hesitate to communicate with their superiors it also leads to a broken chain of command. An organization can also face serious repercussions along with a bad reputation if it is found that the leaders knowingly participated in illegal activities.
Even if companies are unaware of the unethical work going on, they still face public backlash. Some people refer to whistle-blowers as selfless martyrs while others consider them as traitors who leak classified information.
BY:
Khyati Garg and Tanya Wadhwani
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