Ethics professor Wim Vandekerckhove offers expert insights on fostering a strong speak-up culture and managing whistleblowing challenges in remote and hybrid work settings. Discover practical strategies for HR leaders to create a safe and ethical workplace, even in the face of new challenges
An NHS staff survey published in May showed that 29% of employees feel insecure about raising concerns about clinical malpractice, and 38% are afraid to speak up at work. A significant number of NHS employees (43%) say that they can’t count on their employer to address problems within the organisation. These are worrisome results but they aren’t the worst. Last year an internal survey of European Investment Bank employees showed that half feared retaliation if they spoke up about bullying, harassment or fraud. Only 40% said their employer would take their concerns seriously and protect them.
The importance of a speak-up culture
Nurturing a healthy speak-up culture within an organisation is increasingly recognised as a precondition for employee mental health and collaboration within teams. When people feel unable or unsafe to speak up within their organisation, malpractice and wrongdoing can escalate, forcing workers to alert regulators or the press. My research into whistleblowing best practices shows that adequately responding to concerns raised within the workplace and building a responsive organisational culture are crucial. Managers must focus on these essential steps to ensure that employees' concerns are heard.
EU regulations: A higher standard for whistleblowing
New regulations in the EU exceed those currently in place in the UK. In the EU organisations of 50 workers or more are now required to have a whistleblowing policy and a handling process that includes the provision of feedback to the whistleblower. In terms of feedback, an initial acknowledgment of receipt of the complaint is required within seven days, followed by a second update within three months.
There is now also an international standard (ISO37002) on what a whistleblowing policy should include and how speak-up reports should be handled. For example, organisational whistleblowing policies need to provide guidance in easily understandable language on how to report wrongdoing and where to seek support or advice. Besides explaining how the internal speak-up channels and process work, the organisation's policy must also reference alternative reporting channels available outside the organisation, such as regulators. As soon as a concern is raised through the speak-up channel, the risks of retaliation need to be assessed and organisations should identify and implement strategies and actions to prevent detriment. The handling of a report includes providing support throughout the process, including regular communication, with special consideration towards vulnerable people.
Remote work: Encouraging more employees to speak up
None of this is easy but responding appropriately to speak-up reports may become even more important in the future. This became apparent during the COVID lockdown in 2020 when regulators in the UK and the US saw a sharp increase in reports through their whistleblowing channels. Since then, these higher numbers have persisted and can be explained by the expansion of people working remotely.
So, how does physical distance from the office affect an employee's willingness to report unethical behaviour? The privacy of the home can reduce barriers to speaking up. When employees work from the comfort and safety of their homes a dishonest manager seems less intimidating or dangerous, and as a result, employees are more apt to have the courage to speak up. Before lockdown it was typical to see a peak in whistleblower reports after public holidays and extended weekends. The home offers space for reflection and time to gain the courage to raise a concern. As more companies adopt remote and hybrid work policies, the number of employees speaking up is also increasing.
The double-edged sword of workplace gossip
Another consequence of remote and hybrid work is that there are fewer opportunities for informally raising a concern. When working from home, we don’t meet our colleagues at the coffee machine or share our lunch with them. The lack of workplace gossip can have a double effect. On the one hand, gossip is known to enhance employee’s attachment to the organisation. This can lead to an increased commitment, but too much commitment leads to conformity pressure and groupthink. Employees then simply nod and go along despite doubts or behaving contrary to their values. Remote working reduces workplace gossip and hence lowers the risk of groupthink. As a result we can expect more employees to perceive work situations and the behaviour of others as wrongdoing. In this sense a lack of workplace gossip can lead to more reports of wrongdoing through the whistleblowing channel.
On the other hand gossip can also function as a means to share an emotion. Venting or ‘letting off steam’ can be positive for dealing with stress at work. If remote and hybrid work reduces the opportunity for workplace gossip, then we can expect more of this ‘steam’ to come in through the whistleblowing channel. In that sense, we can expect more reports but not necessarily more perceived wrongdoing. The implication is that organisations must put more effort into the triage or first assessment of reports coming through the speak-up channels. It is possible to see more personal grievances or expressions of anxiety in what employees report in the whistleblowing channel. Establishing a protocol between the HR and compliance departments can be helpful to follow up on different types of signals people give when they speak up.
New barriers to speaking up in remote work settings
However, while traditional barriers to speaking up might be lower in remote and hybrid work settings, some new barriers are also associated. New reasons for employee silence do not stem from a fear of speaking up but rather from a lack of urge to do so. If remote workers feel less connected to their workplace and experience less identification with their organisation they may also be less concerned about issues and what goes on in the office. From a distance it is harder to convey notions around standards of work and it needs to be clarified what reportable behaviours are. Therefore organisations must make additional efforts in remote and hybrid work contexts to communicate around the code of conduct and organisational values.
Challenges in investigating remote whistleblowing
An organisation’s ability to appropriately respond to whistleblowers is not only impacted by the number of reports and the types of reports received. Investigating potential wrongdoing can become even more complicated when it involves employees who work remotely. Working from home or some other remote location often means that an employee is using personal devices to complete work tasks, and these devices can be challenging to track and investigate. And whilst video calls make it easier to interview someone about a potential corruption or misconduct, the investigator may find it harder to read body language.
Another critical question is how organisations can ensure adequate whistleblower protections when their employees are geographically dispersed. We mentioned earlier that the ISO37002 standard advises assessing the risk of retaliation early on, meaning we shift protection to pro-active rather than reactive. In that sense, building a culture in which psychological safety is high is of utmost importance. Remote and hybrid work settings require a specific approach to create psychological safety among workers. That is because work and non-work issues are not entirely separable, which may create additional risks and anxieties. Managers, therefore, have to extend psychological safety beyond just work-related matters.
Tools for improving speak-up channels
Recent guidance developed at EDHEC Business School, with the help of leading experts, is based on international best practices (ISO 37002) and EU requirements (EU Directive 2019/1937). It recommends a speak-up culture driven mainly by an organisation’s internal governance, employee training, feedback and reassurances of confidentiality and protection. EDHEC and its partners have developed the SUSA – Speak-Up Self-Assessment, a free online tool that anyone in an HR or compliance role can use (anonymously) to measure the quality of their speak-up channels and culture.
Remote and hybrid work has changed how employees speak up – or not. We need to adapt our listening and responding methods to meet these changes. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your company’s speak-up channels and culture is essential in deciding how best to protect your employees and your company’s public reputation.
Wim Vandekerckhove, pictured, is professor of Business Ethics at EDHEC Business School
