Whistleblowing as a Career Crisis

Recovering from Retaliatory Job Loss through a Process of Bifurcation

Bibliographic Data

ID8042390
AuthorsEmilie Hennequin (0000-0001-8272-3664, Panthéon-Sorbonne University, PRISM Sorbonne, France, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume37
Issue2
Pages545-562
Publication date2021-07-17
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueWork Employment and Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0950-0170 • E-ISSN: 1469-8722
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/09500170211021721
OpenAlexW3183306645
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited39

Although whistleblowing is presented as an ethical action, the fate of the employee who has blown the whistle is often marked by reprisals, such as job loss. The literature has so far shown little interest in the whistleblower’s subsequent career. This article investigates how retaliatory job loss impacts his or her career path and the process for re-integrating into the labour market. Based on 11 career narratives focused on the professional experience of French whistleblowers, this article shows that they faced a bifurcation that can be schematized in six stages (event, moratorium, reassessment, job search, insertion, stabilization) as their emotions and actions change over time. As with any job loss, individuals face psychological difficulties associated with the grievance, but this article also highlights specificities, particularly in terms of isolation, reputation and trust in the business world. Their presence threatening the dominant norms, whistleblowers face contradictions and need the support of the social and institutional environment for their professional reintegration

Action (physics · Career path · Economic growth · Economics · Face (sociological concept · Grievance · Job loss · Management · Narrative · Political science · Process (computing · Public relations · Reputation · Social science · Sociology · Unemployment · Ethics in Business and Education · Law · Leadership, Courage, and Heroism Studies · Management and Organizational Studies · Psychology

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