Workplace report of wrong doing

Whistleblowing in the Workplace

In any company, the partnership between an employer and an employee should be understood. Since a workplace requires contact between managers and workers, errors and wrongdoings are seen as one living in a working world. Wrong behaviors are observed in the office on a daily basis. One may feel obligated to sound an alarm or remain silent. Most workers want to remain silent out of fear of being fired or retaliated against. As an employee, you are under a quandary in certain circumstances. For these purposes, workers have a duty to disclose misconduct without fear of retaliation, recognizing that they are protected by legislation. Employees in any organization have the right and obligation to report any wrongdoing perpetrated by either the company’s management or colleagues. Despite the fear of losing their jobs or facing victimization from other staff members, individuals need to have the courage to stand by their integrity. According to ( Landika, 2017), whistleblowing at the workplace has always been a tricky affair for most workers. Whilst they may have the moral authority to report wrong doings, they are also obligated to obey their employers and maintain the policy of confidentiality. Nonetheless, the society stands to gain more when individual employees have the courage to point issues of unethical practices by organizations. In fact, the law protects employees who whistle blow. In as such, this study uses a deductive approach to argue the essence of whistleblowing in the workplace.

The Importance of Following Company Policies

Every employee is supposed to follow the instruction given to him by the company or the employer. It should be noted that when the company was hiring an employee it wanted him to follow the given rules. As the company hires the employee it makes sure he has a good track of record as well as he can follow the rules throughout the tenure. Since an employer and employee had a valid agreement before the start of the tenure the premise should be considered throughout in such circumstances, an employee feels comfortable when blowing the whistle as the employer practices transformational leadership (Caillier, 2013). This kind of employer-employee relationship leads to better organizational transformation resulting to greater results in the company.

The Employee’s Responsibility to Satisfy Customers

The second premise puts it clear that every employee should work efficiently to satisfy the customers. The main reason for the employment of an employee was to improve the company’s workforce and the total output of the company. The employee should work keeping in mind that he is supposed to work to satisfy the customer and not for his own benefit. The employer should be committed to doing the work since he works for what he is paid for. Considering what the employer is paid for, the act of blowing the whistle whenever a wrong is seen does not guarantee him or her to stay quiet. An employee should keep in mind that he has to work for the benefit of the company but he should also consider his or her rights.

The Fear of Retaliation and Loss of Job

The third premise indicates that most employees decide to keep quiet when a wrong is seen due to fear of retaliation and loss of a job. An employee reporting his or her co-worker or the employer may possibly lead to retaliation. Considering that the employee keeps quiet on an important issue due to fear of retaliation may later bring greater problems to him. When later the problem is realized the employee who failed to raise an alarm may be found guilty of covering the other employee. This may result in a more diversifying problem to the employee than if he had reported earlier. It is advisable for any employee to report any wrong to escape future worse problems.

Legal Protection for Whistleblowers

The last premise is that there are rights to protect every employee who raises an alarm or “blows the whistle” to the workplace. Many laws have been enacted to protect the employee like the Dodd-frank Wall Street Reform and the Consumer Protection Act which was enacted in 2008. According to an article published in Michigan, it indicated that Dodd-Frank provided some specific provisions that were designed to protect the corporate whistleblower (Wadman, 2012). The provisions showed the belief of the senate that laws were required to protect the employees from an economic crisis. Another law that was enacted was the “Whistle Blower Protection Act of 2012(WPA)”. “The law was enacted to protect government scientist who challenges the censorship of scientific information” (Wadman, 2012). These are just a few laws that have been enacted to show that the employee is protected from retaliation and has a right to raise alarm whenever a wrong is seen (Landika, 2017).

Arguments Against Whistleblower Laws

On the other side, it is considered on that employees should try to follow the instructions given to him or her and when a problem arises employees to use their own discretion when reporting the wrongdoing. It is also considered that it is better to remain quiet since retaliation is very likely to occur in case one reports an unethical activity. Whistleblower laws are ineffective. The laws protecting the whistleblower are ineffective since the freedom of speech may only be realized in government sectors only. In private sectors the laws are not clearly followed since the agreement between the employee and employer are clearly followed and going against the laws would lead to loss of a job (HR specialist, 2012). Considering the loss of a job one would consider keeping Quiet since losing a job is what many people would not want it to happen to them. Most laws provide some rights to certain expression, hence, an employer is supposed to keep quiet when a wrong is seen in fear of retaliation for the law only specifies certain expressions.

Counterargument and Conclusion

Responding to such argument, it would be wise to admit that not everybody would see all the given premises are effective. Considering that it is advisable to follow strictly the rules given to you by the employer this will create a conducive environment where you can raise any concern that you see it as unethical. The other premises based on the fear of retaliation, as it is considered that despite one fearing retaliation, this would course adverse problems by staying quiet. Since the laws have already been enacted it would be wrong to render them ineffective. The laws are made to protect all the employees in all sectors; both private and public companies should consider the laws. Laws are made for the universal use and it would be wrong if private organizations do not consider that. Most employees are aware of the laws and it would also be wrong to state that employees do not know much about the laws. It is also evident that most companies have provided channels through which there is open communication between the employee and employer without the fear of retaliation.

In conclusion, effective communication in any company is important for the progress of the company. Employees should feel free in reporting any incidence that they notice without the fear of retaliation or even losing the job since they are protected against any mistreatment from the employer. Employees also should understand that staying quiet has a greater effect than reporting in advance. Employees should understand that every company wants to protect the investors and have a good reputation. The act of blowing the whistle is made to benefit the company and the employee. It’s good for all companies to allow the employees to raise any concern as it will help to improve the company.

References

Caillier, J. G. (2013). Do Employees Feel Comfortable Blowing the Whistle When Their Supervisors Practice Transformational Leadership? International Journal of Public Administration, 36(14), 1020. doi:10.1080/01900692.2013.798812

HR specialist, (2012). Freedom of speech: Does it apply to work? _x0097_ Business Management Daily: Free Reports on Human Resources, Employment Law, Office Management, Office Communication, Office Technology and Small Business Tax Business Management Daily. Businessmanagementdaily.com. Retrieved 6 April 2017, from http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/20999/freedom-of-speech-does-it-apply-at-work

Landika, S. (2017). Whistling While You Work - Workforce Magazine. Workforce Magazine. Retrieved 6 April 2017, from http://www.workforce.com/2012/04/02/whistling-while-you-work/

Wadman, M. (2012). US drug agency spied on scientists. Nature, 487(7408), 418. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1032785958?accountid=32521