The frequency of retaliation against employees who report alleged misconduct in their corporation has risen in the last two years as companies struggle in trying economic conditions, according to the latest study from the Ethics Resource Center (ERC).
The study shows that 22 percent of US citizens who reported alleged misconduct within their companies in 2011 suffered some form of perceived retaliation, ‘whether merely an errant perception (like being passed over for a promotion he/she would not have received anyway), or an unequivocal experience of victimiza¬tion (like receiving harassing calls or emails)’, according to the ERC study. The number is up from 15 percent in the previous study in 2009, and from 12 percent in 2007.
At the same time, 65 percent of employees who witness misconduct in their companies reported it in some form in 2011, showing a steady increase from 63 percent in 2009 and 58 percent in 2007, according to the National Business Ethics Survey, which is co-sponsored by accounting firm KPMG and Merck.
The report shows that employees who report alleged misconduct to the hotline are the most likely to suffer retaliation, with 40 percent of them reporting some form of perceived retribution.
About 27 percent of people who reported allegations of misconduct straight to senior management reported retaliation, compared with 17 percent of those who went to their immediate supervisors.
‘It is likely that differences in retaliation rates by reporting locations are indicative of the seriousness of the kinds of misconduct being reported,’ the report notes.
‘It seems likely many reporters would choose to go to higher manage¬ment when their supervisors are the ones who commit¬ted the misconduct. Employees often report significant violations of the law (such as insider trading) to the hotline because it provides an assurance of anonymity and pro¬tection, which an in-person report does not.’
The study also indicates that whistleblowers who are members of senior management and middle management are most likely to suffer some form of perceived retaliation, at 80 percent and 81 percent, respectively. Non-management personnel are the least likely, at 63 percent.
The study further finds that men are more likely to suffer retaliation than women, that whistleblowers below the age of 45 are more likely to suffer than older workers, and supervisors are more likely to suffer than non-supervisors.
The most common form of perceived retaliation is being passed over for a promotion (55 percent of all cases), followed by relocation and then demotion.
