Whistleblowing and Social Justice

Whistleblowers generally view their disclosures as prosocial behaviour or an expression of organizational citizenship. They believe that they are acting in the organization’s best interests by trying to prevent wrongdoing that is detrimental to colleagues, the organization, and the general public. They are under the impression that they are addressing a public issue and that their employer would investigate the wrongdoing, correct it, reward them, or at least be grateful. Instead, the organization often responds with relentless retaliation against the whistleblower while sweeping the wrongdoing under the rug. This response creates private troubles for the whistleblower and public issues for the organization and the public.
Finding effective solutions to the private troubles and public issues flowing from whistleblowers’ actions requires facilitating social justice in the workplace. Justice will be restored if organizational members are encouraged to act against the abuse of power and corruption in organizations by blowing the whistle, while the organization responds positively to the disclosures by investigating. We invite papers that consider the role clinical sociologists and other practitioners could play in designing and/or implementing interventions that would ensure better outcomes for the whistleblower, the organization, and others involved.