What leads employees to become whistleblowers?

When employees witness disproportionate pay for C-suite executives or unfair treatment compared to other stakeholders, they often perceive a lack of fairness within the organization. 

As Harvard Business Review writes, that perception can grow to be toxic in the company for morale, leading to disloyalty and resentment.

New research cited by the publication shows there are two factors that could make employees more likely to blow the whistle on their companies: outsized disparities in executive compensation and treatment of external stakeholders. 

The compensation gap between CEOs and average employees has been growing alarmingly wider over time: 20-to-1 in 1965; 59-to-1 in 1989; 366-to-1 in 2020; and 399-to-1 in 2021. Researchers found that in firms with greater disparities, employees were more likely to become whistleblowers—and this likelihood was further enhanced when employees believed they could easily find another job.

Read the full story by Harvard Business Review for strategies to address the issue.