Whistleblowing is something that came to media attention recently and as such it has been in the mouths of everyone around the world. Basically, whenever someone has information about unethical conduct such as illegal activities or unsafe procedures going on inside a company or any other type of entity, this person can become a whistleblower by making this information public. But we must ask ourselves, what are the pros and cons of this?
The Pros of Whistleblowing
1. Improper Behavior Exposed
Whenever some blows that whistle, a government, an agency or any type of business gets exposed to the public, which will certainly not approved the actions that even made someone come out and tell everyone about them. As such, it serves as a way to keep entities on their toes and to keep them acting according to legal limits, thus preventing them from taking shortcuts.
Alone, one whistleblower might not change the world, but the combined efforts of whistleblowers throughout time will make companies understand they can not get away with things they shouldn’t be doing in the first place. A chain reaction is possible, provided whistleblowers don’t suffer too much for their actions.
2. Legal Protection
Luckily, whistleblowers now are protected by the federal government’s Whistleblower Protection Program, allowing employees to report violations and unethical acts without having to be afraid of any consequences these actions might have. The program protects, essentially, from retaliation a company might try to enforce against the employee who blew the whistle . If a company still retaliates and violates this protection, it can face fines, civil lawsuits and suspension of contracts with the government.
The Cons of Whistleblowing
1. Career Damage
An employee who has the courage to whistleblow against a company is going to get attention from the corporate world, and it will certainly have a downside on his career. While the whistleblower is seen as a hero by the outside world and whoever was the victim of the improper actions the corporation was doing, the corporate world itself is going to see the whistleblower is someone that cannot be trusted, as a disloyal person that simply won’t keep company secrets. Moreover, is the case gets media attention, the whistleblower might just lose his career in his industry, and possibly in other industries as well.
2. Personal Problems
While the whistleblower takes action for the greater good and for the well-being of everyone as well as for a better world, both media and corporations will try to dig deep into his personal life in order to get information about the whistleblower that they can use to discredit him or to make people hate him. It’s also possible that the whistleblower is threatened from both co-workers and supervisors that are trying to look at the company’s best interests.
