You Might Be A Whistleblower If . . .
1. You feel compelled to report to management or others what you believe is illegal, immoral or just plain wrong;
2. You think being a "team player" is not as important as telling the truth;
3. It is hard for you to lie, even if lying is in your best interest;
4. Oftentimes you feel like you don't fit in;
5. Sometimes you wonder why you have such a hard time fitting in;
6. You don't care that much about promotions, awards, or pleasing your supervisor;
7. You worry about getting fired for coming forward, but you come forward anyway;
8. Sometimes your loved ones wish you would try harder to get along at work;
9. You were never part of the "in" crowd in school, work, or socially;
10. You don't understand why others don't come forward.
It is hard to be a whistleblower, since most whistleblowers get fired. True whistleblowers are a rare breed. They show courage when most people are afraid to rock the boat. Here's to the boat rocker! Our society is better because of your courage.
Society may be better off, but my family isn't. Fired and blackballed in my profession is a hard way to make a living. And protection by the law? You've got to be kidding me!! Next time, I keep my mouth shut and collect my paycheck. To hell with doing the right thing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this suggested whistleblower personality test. I notice that whistleblowing is almost everywhere defined as an act of an employee. I prefer a more general definition that covers any person occupying a weak and/or vulnerable role within an organization disclosing misconduct by those who control the organization. Under this concept, tenants can blow the whistle on landlords, shareholders can blow the whistle on corporate boards, prisoners can blow the whistle on wardens, students can blow the whistle on teachers, etc. In all such situations, there may be common patterns of intimidation and retaliation. I have blogged about those patterns at http://stulta.com/forumo/archives/1262.
ReplyDelete