“To Do or Not To Do – That’s The Question” – A Whistle-blower's Dilemma

 

"The sign of a first-class mind is the ability to hold two opposing views at the same time and still retain the ability to function."  - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Mary seemed worried as she gulped her lunch and dashed off to her office. Nina, her lunch-buddy followed her to check if everything was okay with Mary.

“Oh, this is quite challenging for me. I need courage to deal with the situation” Mary finally opened a window of her mind to Nina

“What is bothering you?” - Nina

“You have to keep this to yourself. Promise me. Tom is talking to one of our competitors around our top-selling product line and I happened to overhear their discussion. I was on my way to get a coffee for myself and as I stood near the vending machine, I could not help listening to the conversation, I was shocked at the details Tom was sharing. I talked to Tom and tried to sound him of my concern around doing this. He dismissed my concerns stating that he had not leaked any confidential details. I tried explaining the issue and the impact it may have but he clearly wasn’t listening to me. He tried to convince me that sharing some of this information is absolutely normal and that I should not be surprised at this behavior. As you know, Tom is my team lead and I fear this will result in some sort of retaliation” - Mary

“Oh! This is a serious matter. You should inform the relevant compliance authorities about this. I hope you are aware of the laws that protect whistle-blowers. The compliance office in the organization is in-charge of such matters. Rob from the compliance office takes care of such matters. He and his team are authorized to investigate the matter and report to the higher compliance authorities” – Nina

“Good to know. But, how will anonymity around such matters be maintained?” – Mary

“That is protected at the beginning of the investigation but I guess the names may need to be public if deemed necessary as the investigation proceeds. However, the law itself protects whistle-blowers from retaliation. I don’t think you should worry about this.” – Nina

As per Oxford dictionary, a whistle-blower is a person who informs on a person or organization regarded as engaging in an unlawful or immoral activity. This is a guard against harmful and dishonest activities that can jeopardize the credibility and reliability of an organization. In this case, Mary is a whistle-blower and wishes to report Tom’s actions to the compliance officer.

“How can I not worry? If my name is exposed, I know of how things can get difficult for me and may impact my career negatively. From being singled out as a whistle-blower, I am likely to face corporate retaliation, financial hardships and finally, impact on my personal and professional relationships. I may be fired from my job too. Is all this damage worth it?”

“Well, I understand your concern. However, looking at things beyond you, reporting this matter to Rob is an ethical act to do. Not only will it save the reputation of our organization but will also get you some brawny points for blowing the whistle before it becomes too late. I am sure our team will hold you in highest regard for this act and you will serve as an example for many from our team members and organization. Don’t you think this outweighs your personal concerns? I am sure you are aware of the Project Management Institute’s Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct and the pmi.org/ethics webpages. These pages list a plethora of references containing great tools that might further assist you in taking a decision –  you really need to look them up too.

“To do or not to do, is the question and my friend, I am sure, you will choose “to do”” - Nina

“Ok. But do you think these laws are operational or are they merely on paper”? – Mary sounded skeptical

“We can check with Rob on it” – Nina’s assuring voice

“Thanks Nina. That makes me feel better. I will see Rob at the earliest” – Mary

This is a common challenge in the contemporary competitive world where cutthroat competition is fierce, ugly and threatens to destroy businesses. Many of us, intentionally or unintentionally find ourselves in situations that get us involved in similar whistle-blowing cases and then the question arise on “what do we do?”  The question is at the core of an ethical dilemma, sleepless nights and uncertainty about the next steps, the implications on us as individuals, our well-being, our livelihood, our families, friends and loved ones. Will it be risky to be a whistle-blower?

While our ethical compass directs us on what to do, the consequences might deter us, prior stories and the outcomes might determine how confident we are in the system, following the process and putting our trust in the compliance system that might or might not support us.  

Without any dearth of evidence, it has been shown that to be ethically correct is always the ideal and right thing to do. With codes around ethics and laws that protect whistle-blowers, those who wish to report such unethical or illegal acts can be assured that their interests and welfare will be protected.

However, in this age of disruption where uncertainty around jobs looms large, what is way out?

After about six months of the incident, the team heard that Mary had resigned with a note on facing some distress from her manager and the organization. Well that ended the matter of this specific case but did it really end the overall issue that Mary had raised?

Have you ever come across this situation in your professional life so far? Would love to hear your thoughts.

References and helpful links

• Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2011 - Act of the Parliament of India
• The Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 – A federal law of United States
• https://www.whistleblowing.com.au/how-to-comply-with-australia-whistleblowing-legislation/
• https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/FreedomOpinion/Pages/ProtectionOfSources.aspx
• PMI’s Ethics in Project Management Page - https://www.pmi.org/ethics
• PMI’s Ethical Decision-Making Framework - https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/ethics/ethical-decision-making-framework.pdf?v=1b7ea95c-6b50-4aad-9ce1-3c953efd2858&sc_lang_temp=en
• PMI’s Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct  https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/ethics/pmi-code-of-ethics.pdf?v=5b0f0983-6467-4d7d-9aae-577fbac4d4b3&sc_lang_temp=en

Note: You can find a rich set of Ethics resources such as the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, Ethical Decision Making Framework, Ethics-related Tools, etc., in many world languages at http://www.pmi.org/ethics.

Names are changed to protect identity.