User:Penbat/whistleblowing

There is limited research about the psychological impact of whistle blowing. However, poor experiences of whistleblowing can cause a prolonged and prominent assault upon staff wellbeing. As workers attempt to address concerns, they are often met with a wall of silence and hostility by management. Some whistleblowers speak of overwhelming and persistent distress, drug and alcohol problems, paranoid behaviour at work, acute anxiety, nightmares, flashbacks and intrusive thoughts. This symptomology shares many of the warning signs defined within posttraumatic stress disorder. Depression is often reported by whistleblowers, and suicidal thoughts may occur in up to about 10%. General deterioration in health and self care has been described. The range of symptomatology shares many of the features of Traumatic Stress Disorder, although there is debate about whether the trauma experienced by whistleblowers meets diagnostic thresholds. Increased stress related physical illness has also been described in whistleblowers.

The stresses involved in whistleblowing can be huge, as the culture remains largely one of “shooting the messenger”. As such, workers remain afraid to blow the whistle, fear that they will not be believed and have lost faith in believing that anything will happen if they do speak out. This fear may indeed be justified, because an individual who feels threatened by whistleblowing, may plan the career destruction of the ‘complainant’ by reporting fictitious errors or rumours. This technique, labelled as ‘gaslighting’ is a common, unconventional approach used by organisations to manage employees who cause difficulty by raising concerns. In extreme cases, this technique involves the organisation or manager proposing that the complainant’s mental health is unstable.

Organisations also often attempt to ostracise, isolate whistleblowers, and undermine their concerns by suggesting that these are groundless, carrying out inadequate investigations or by ignoring them altogether. Whistleblowers may also be disciplined, suspended and reported to professional bodies upon manufactured pretexts. Where whistleblowers persist in raising their concerns, they increasingly risk detriments such as dismissal (Public Concern at Work 2013). Following dismissal, whistleblowers may struggle to find further employment due to damaged reputations, poor references and blacklisting. The social impact of whistleblowing through loss of livelihood (and sometimes pension), and family strain may also impact on whistleblowers’ psychological wellbeing. Whistleblowers may also experience immense stress as a result of litigation regarding detriments such as unfair dismissal, which they often face with imperfect support or no support at all from unions. Whistleblowers who continue to pursue their concerns may also face long battles with official bodies such as regulators and government departments. (Private Eye 2011, Patients First 2013). Such bodies may reproduce the “institutional silence” by employers, adding to whistleblowers’ stress and difficulties. In all, some whistleblowers suffer great injustice, that may never be acknowledged or rectified.

Such extreme experiences of threat and loss inevitably cause severe distress and sometimes mental illness. Some whistleblowers may experience distress and mental ill health for years afterwards. This mistreatment also deters others from coming forward with concerns. Thus, poor practises remain hidden behind a wall of silence, and prevent any organisation from experiencing the improvements that may be afforded by intelligent failure.

Whistleblowing can cause a prolonged and prominent assault upon staff wellbeing. As staff attempt to address concerns, they are often met with a wall of silence and hostility by management. Whistle blowers speak of overwhelming and persistent distress, drug and alcohol problems, paranoid behaviour at work, acute anxiety, nightmares, flashbacks and intrusive thoughts. This symptomology shares many of the warning signs defined within posttraumatic stress disorder.

As such, staff remain afraid to blow the whistle, fear that they will not be believed and have lost faith in believing that anything will happen if they do speak out. This fear may indeed be justified, because an individual who feels threatened by whistleblowing, may plan the career destruction of the ‘complainant’ by reporting fictitious errors or rumours. This technique, labelled as ‘gaslighting’ is a common, unconventional approach used by organisations to manage employees who cause difficulty by raising concerns. In extreme cases, this technique involves the organization or manager proposing that the complainant’s mental health is unstable. This extreme technique inevitably exacerbates the psychological distress of the whistle blower and deters others to come forward with concerns. Thus, poor practises remain hidden behind a wall of silence, and prevent any organization from experiencing the improvements that may be afforded by intelligent failure.