Building an Anti-Whistleblowing Culture

Signs of Retaliation

In writing about the World Whistleblowing Day 2026, jdsupra.com defines an anti-retaliation culture as existing “at work when people can report concerns or take part in an investigation without being punished, isolated, or treated differently.” They point out that policies and guidance help direct culture, but credibility and trust come from supporting those who report and witness such instances and set positive examples of proactively speaking up and investigating cases fairly.

For the seventeenth year in a row, retaliation was most prevalent of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charges in fiscal year 2024, with 42,301 filings. This is an incredibly high amount and, obviously, doesn’t include all the unreported cases where a whistleblower did not report wrongdoing because they feared retaliation.

Forms of Retaliation

There are a variety of ways retaliation occurs, according to the article. These include:

• Termination, demotion, pay cuts, bonus or commission reductions, or formal disciplinary procedures
• Reduced hours, worse shifts, or schedule changes that create hardship or cut earnings
• Removal from projects, client work, meetings, or decision-making
• Blocking training, promotion, stretch work, or other development opportunities
• Increased scrutiny, micromanagement, or sudden performance write-ups without a prior pattern
• Changes to role, reporting line, location, or access to systems and information needed to do the job
• Pressure to drop a complaint, stop cooperating, or “handle it quietly”
• Hostility or social retaliation, including exclusion, rumors, freezing or singling someone out

Here are some early signs of retaliation to watch out for and initial questions to ask:

Building a Speak-Up Culture

A speak up culture gives people an environment where open communication is genuinely encouraged. Employees feel safe raising concerns, sharing ideas, and giving feedback. They can question how things are done and offer a different opinion without losing trust or respect.

That openness drives both personal growth and a stronger organization. Speaking up, in ethics and compliance terms, means everyone has a voice, and that voice gets heard, respected, and acted on. The result is an organization that is more ethical, more compliant, and harder to blindside.

What are the benefits of building a speak up culture?

A speak up culture pays off in concrete ways, according to speakup.com.

• You catch misconduct early: Employees report problems, risks, and policy violations sooner when they know it’s welcome, so you can step in before issues escalate.
• You improve transparency and accountability: When people feel comfortable raising ethical concerns, accountability follows, and problems surface before they spiral.
• You support diversity, equity, and inclusion: A strong culture makes room for underrepresented voices, surfaces a wider range of perspectives, and reduces bias in how concerns get handled.
• You retain top talent: When employees see their organization act on what they say, they have fewer reasons to leave. A speak up culture helps retain talent and lowers turnover.
• You raise employee engagement: People who feel heard engage more deeply with their work. Knowing how to develop psychological safety builds trust and belonging, and supported employees tend to be more motivated and productive.
• You build continuous learning: When employees share knowledge openly, you get more cross-functional collaboration, mentorship, and skill-building across teams.

What are the barriers to speaking up?

Speaking up is hard, and several barriers get in the way. Only 50% of employees report misconduct, and that figure drops with younger generations entering the workforce. Recognizing what holds people back is the first step.

• Fear of retaliation: Worry about being labeled a troublemaker or facing social fallout stops many people from reporting.
• A belief that nothing will change: If employees sense their concerns won’t lead to action, many stay silent.
• Language barriers: In multilingual workplaces, people hold back when they can’t raise a concern in their own language.
• Group loyalty: The pull between standing by your team and reporting wrongdoing can be paralyzing.
• Clunky reporting tools: A complicated or dated reporting process discourages people before they start.

Addressing these barriers is crucial when learning how to encourage employees to speak up and where building a real speak up culture begins.

Why Managers May Not Act on Whistleblower Reports

Unfortunately, while the many benefits of speak-up culture are clear, many managers remain hesitant to seek input from their people and are even less likely to really listen when that input is provided. And while disregarding employee input can cause frustration and disengagement of some of their best people (even causing them to leave), actively discouraging employees from speaking up can have even more severe detrimental impacts on the long-term effectiveness of the

The speak-up culture is related to the cancel culture in that if employees contemplate speaking out, in today’s divisive environment it is crucial to consider whether they might be canceled for their actions. Even though the points they make might help improve the ethical environment in the organization, it won’t matter if that organization is run according to political correctness. Going against the orthodoxy by speaking up can lead to being canceled from the organization, meaning being painted in a negative light for everyone in the organization to see. The “thought police” may be at work and stifle dissent thereby restricting free speech.

Blog posted on August 13, 2026 by Steven Mintz, PhD, professor emeritus from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Contact Steve at smintz.calpoly.edu. Visit his website to learn more about his activities.