8 Challenges Whistleblowers Face in and out of the Workplace

As an employee, your employer usually expects complete loyalty from you, which is why being a whistleblower is often a big deal. Whistleblowing involves reporting your employer to reveal illegal, dangerous, dishonest practices. It can either be internal or external, and the former entails reporting an issue to the CEO or executive management while the latter is contacting the media, the police, or government regulators. 

But while being a whistleblower may be considered a noble act, not everyone—especially your employer—will be pleased with your actions. As a result, this leads to you dealing with several challenges in and out of the workplace. Here are some of the challenges you should expect to face as a whistleblower. 

You Risk Retaliation From Your Employer

Employers will seek to exert their revenge on you as a whistleblower even when they’re familiar with the Los Angeles whistleblower rights. As a result, your employer might fire you, harass you, or demote you from your current position. 

If your employer chooses to take a retaliatory stance against you, you need to hire a whistleblower lawyer right away to help you fight for your rights. With their guidance, you might be able to get paid punitive damages and other fees from your employer for their actions. After all, retaliation by your employer is considered illegal according to the law and must never happen. 

Go Through Emotional Distress

After revealing your employer’s misdeeds, you’ll undoubtedly face backlash from them and even from some of your colleagues. This can include being isolated and bullied while executing your day-to-day duties. You may also get a negative performance review. All of these may cause you immense emotional distress. As a result, you may start experiencing panic attacks, excessively drinking alcohol to manage the pressure, and spiraling down into depression. 

Proving you’re undergoing emotional distress as a whistleblower can be a real challenge. Fortunately, this is an issue that juries and judges are seriously looking into should your employer start mistreating you in the workplace. Therefore, you can get compensated for the stress you went through at the hands of your employer. 

The Whistleblowing Process is Often Lengthy

After blowing the whistle on unlawful company activities, the matter heads to court, and the case might end up taking several years before a judgment is made. The lengthy process and possible delays make it even hard because you still need to pay for expenses such as hiring a lawyer and attending court hearings. And if your employer decides to retaliate and fire you because of whistleblowing, you might end up being without any income stream. Fortunately, you’ll get a sizeable compensation once a judgment is reached, and the delay might be worth it. 

Compromises Trust

Organizations prefer it when employees lodge their complaints through formal internal channels rather than exposing the issue to the public. This way, they can resolve the issue without public condemnation. As a result, this boosts the relationship between an employer and employees and among the staff. 

In contrast, being a whistleblower for a company’s wrongdoings compromise the trust between everyone within the organization. This leads to a strained relationship with your direct manager. It also causes other employees to become nervous about interacting with you, thereby destroying any interpersonal relationships you may have built with them. 

As a result, this makes the workplace feel like a machine where you only need to concentrate on your work. This causes you to lose any personal pride you might have had with your job. You may also be continually isolated from the rest of your co-workers,

Your Allegations Might Fail To Hold Up

Another challenge you’ll face as a whistleblower is the possibility of getting an unfavorable judgment on the wrongdoing you’ve accused your employer. Many factors can affect the outcome of the case. For one, there are legal technicalities that a court of law must follow. And another is the amount and strength of the evidence you can present to prove such illegal or fraudulent practices.

Knowing this, it’s best to consult an experienced whistleblower first before filing a formal complaint against your employer. This way, you’ll know whether there’s enough evidence for you to forward a claim or not. 

Your Employability Is Negatively Affected

Every company expects an employee to follow corporate protocols and even keep a level of confidence and trust between them. Whistleblowing is often seen as the opposite, and while this might be a morally upright thing to do, employers usually see this as a red flag. 

As a result, it may become quite challenging for you to get employed elsewhere after leaving your current job. Aside from that, the company might blacklist you from getting employment in companies and businesses that act as their partners or affiliates.

Organizational Consequences

Whistleblowing leads to negative repercussions for the company because it ruins the public’s trust in the organization. This directly affects revenues, even if it’s only a handful of top-level executives involved in devious practices. In addition, you and other staff within the company will be subject to public backlash or legal claims even if none of you are involved in the misdeed. 

But even with such organizational ramifications, be it market-related or legal, they shouldn’t make you feel guilty for your actions. Instead, see this as a way to ensure the misdemeanors are dealt with as soon as possible. This will protect the company from greater consequences should the matter leak out at a later date. 

Experience Gender-Based Discrimination

If you’re a female whistleblower, you’ll face greater criticism and consequences for your actions. This would have been different had the whistleblower been a man in a similar position. Because of this, it would be best to reach out to a whistleblower lawyer before bringing the company’s misdeeds to light.  

Takeaway

You should be ready for a subsequent backlash from your employer after bringing to light any wrongdoing within your organization. Before you decide to take a course of action, it’s best to know the possible repercussions. After all, you need to protect your rights too. This is what we’ve covered in this guide to help you better prepare yourself if you’re planning to be a whistleblower.   

Edward Davis is a financial expert who loves to share insights he acquired in the corporate field through blogging and guest posting.