Why Blowing the Whistle

Blow the whistle? (Business)

When should employee report misconduct by his or her boss? Many people have decided to disclose others’ misbehaviors. Sometimes they do so for their own interest, such as the opportunity to make a fortune or just to take revenge on an adverse coworker. However, instead of being rewarding, whistle-blowing can sometimes turn to be detrimental for the whistle-blower. The term “whistle-blower” was originally used to refer to employees who had made public the misconduct and dishonesty of their coworkers, especially in federal agencies. In the worst case scenario, if a whistle-blower does not hit the news and make a fortune out of it, he or she is practically in a lot of trouble. Not only does he/she have to make huge expenses on legal services, but also his/her future can be at risk if the person who had been denounced is powerful enough to hinder the whistle-blower’s opportunity to find other jobs within the same industry. Moreover, in terms of emotions, an unlucky whistle-blower tends to fall in depression because of social pressure and unfortunately he will have to face the unfriendly attention now turned to his/her families. With that in mind, one should be very careful when thinking about blowing the whistle. But sometimes, whistle-blowing appears to be the right thing to do. A more elaborate explanation of the term is necessary, and this is the object of the next section. After that, an attempt to provide justifications of the act of whistle-blowing will follow.

“Whistle-blowing can be defined as the release of information by a member or former member of an organization that is evidence of illegal and/or immoral conduct in the organization or conduct in the organization that is not in the public interest.” (Boatright, 96). Thus, there is ground to refer to the term “whistle-blowing” only in the case of employees within a company that reveal other employees’ misconduct. Then, it follows that the term may not be used for an external investigator or witness who reports an illegal act or a crime against a certain employee. This distinction makes sense because an investigator or a witness of a crime does not have any contract that requires confidentiality regarding the organization. On the other hand, an employee owes his or her organization keeping internal information confidential. Violating this obligation is normally illegal. That is specifically why whistle-blowing weighs a lot and thinking about blowing the whistle requires a long consideration before actually taking action. Also, blowing the whistle involves revealing a wrongdoing – totally unknown to the public – that could be substantially at the public’s disadvantage. When misconduct is reported to the whistle-blower’s immediate supervisor, the scope of repercussions of the desired result is very slim. Sometimes, this form of internal report is not even considered as whistle-blowing. Rather, when the information is directly reported to the press, it is considered to whistle-blowing and might produce a greater impact. Moreover, whistle-blowing must be backed up with a moral outlook and at all time remain voluntary.

The purpose of blowing the whistle is normally an employee’s attempt to stop an unethical behavior within an organization. However, blowing the whistle seems to raise ethical concerns itself. Although the general public tends to accept this act as ethical (because it is usually in the public’s interest), whistle-blowing must be questioned. The following