Without the initiative of whistleblowers, much wrongdoing would remain undetected and could continue. But being a whistleblower can be risky. It can have negative consequences for those who speak up in the public interest about wrongdoing. This study sought to understand the experiences of whistleblowers who reported or tried to report wrongdoing in their workplace. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 36 whistleblowers from the public and private sectors and with 21 people who dealt with the reports from whistleblowers.
The results showed that the whistleblowers experienced a range of negative consequences after reporting wrongdoing, and which sometimes persisted long after having blown the whistle. Whistleblowers reported retaliation and reprisals including loss of employment, disciplinary action and ostracism as well as negative financial and psychological impacts. The results also identified a lack of welfare support in the workplace for whistleblowers and that legislative protection for whistleblowers was perceived to be ineffective to prevent victimisation. In terms of suggestions that could make the experience of blowing the whistle better, these included improvements in the management of work place culture, effective implementation of workplace policies to support whistleblowers, streamlining the processes and procedures for reporting misconduct and giving due recognition and compensation for whistleblowers for having spoken up.