Whistleblowing at Work: Whither Sustainability...

Whistleblowing, involving the reporting of illegal, unethical or illegitimate practices at work, lies at the core of how individuals, groups, organizations and national contexts interplay in eliminating wrongdoing at work and building sustainable workplaces. Indeed, whistleblowing is of global importance due to its potential to stop wrongdoing and corruption and, in turn, influence the trust in democratic institutions which preserve democratic rights. As a governance issue, then, whistleblowing facilitates the global sustainability agenda. Yet, despite the significance of the whistleblowing act, whistleblowers are known to suffer grievous consequences, raising concerns about the ethics associated with interventions designed to protect and support them. As a social issue, then, whistleblower mistreatment, which embodies indignity and ill-being, impedes the global sustainability agenda. Wrongdoing and corruption on the one hand and whistleblower mistreatment on the other hand represent two grand challenges facing human society. We endeavour to reconcile these paradoxical aspects of the whistleblowing phenomenon and its link with the global sustainability agenda through a review of international literature on the topic.