Whistleblowing survey 2020: impact of COVID-19

As part of our ongoing review of whistleblowing culture over the years, we’ve gathered the views of over 2,500 individuals in the UK, US, Hong Kong, Germany and France to assess their attitudes towards whistleblowing, and to consider how these have changed since our last survey in 2017. 

Our report shows that there has been a general decrease in those who have been involved in whistleblowing, as well as a decline in confidence with regards to support from senior management for those who do blow the whistle.

In this podcast chaired by Stephanie Chiu and Nicola Jones, guest speakers Caroline Stroud and Holly Insley explore one of the aspects of this survey – how COVID-19 may have changed our attitudes towards whistleblowing. The speakers share their thoughts on the effect of COVID-19 on the speak-up culture and the number of whistleblowing investigations since the pandemic arose. They also discuss whether the whistleblowing trends of the survey are indicative of what we should expect in the future and the need to revise current whistleblowing procedures in order to align with the possibility of long-term remote working.