Two business school professors who published
several studies on retaliation (including
studying early whistleblower cases filed
with the MSPB a decade or more ago) found
retaliation occurred about 20% of the time.
See Marcia P. Miceli and Janet P. Near, Blowing the Whistle: the Organizational and
Legal Implications for Companies and Employees (New York: Lexington Books, 1992).
Whistleblower demographics are skewed. Whistleblowers
are most often either new employees (unfamiliar
with the look-the-other-way norm), or near-retirement
employees (who may be making a last stand
for longstanding principles and for whom
pensions provide a backstop if the situation
becomes too crazy). While Erin Brockovich, Linda Tripp,
Sherron Watkins and Colleen Rowley are women,
these somewhat dated academic studies found
most federal whistleblowers were male. So
does a recent informal study by the National
Whistleblower Center. Cultural attitudes
and access to information about how to complain
legally probably matter. Still, scholarly
updates are needed.
In any event, where retaliation begins, some
whistleblowers realize the extent to which
the deck can be stacked against them in a
hostile work environment. Harassment can
be subtle or quite public. Unfortunately,
employees with the best-documented cases
of most serious wrongdoing appear to experience
the most retaliation. Perhaps that's because
a cornered wrongdoer tends to fight the most
fiercely. Rational victims might well choose
departure and silence, the retaliator's desired outcomes.
Departure can chill further speech about
workplace problems. Most federal whistleblowers
have held jobs with the agency for several
years before their unsuccessful internal
attempts at reform. Watching coworkers can
rightly fear, for example, that the retaliating
supervisor will likewise retaliate, at the
very least orally during reference checks
by potential future employers. Backstabbing
badmouthing can be downright inaccurate. Yet,
today, most potential employers comprehend
a "no comment" as a bad reference,
either about employee misconduct or because
no one wants to hire a suspected troublemaker.
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