Blowing the whistle on bad behavior takes more than guts

ANN ARBOR-Our work environments play a bigger role than previously thought when it comes to reporting unethical behavior, according to University of Michigan researcher. "Our findings contradict conventional wisdom that the personal characteristics of an employee drive his or her decision to speak up," said David Mayer, assistant professor of management and organizations at U-M's Ross School of Business. The research found that the social environment-namely, one's supervisor and co-workers-plays a critical role in an employee's decision to speak up about wrongdoing. In the past decade, we have witnessed many ethical failures from leaders of companies such as Enron, Qualcomm and Fannie Mae. The harsh reality is that those who speak up about unethical conduct are often ignored, or worse, retaliated against, Mayer said. Given the risks associated with blowing the whistle, when an employee witnesses unethical behavior will he or she report it? Mayer and his co-authors conducted three studies. In the first, they collected data from employees in a for-profit, multinational company headquartered in the United States.