Peer Support for Whistleblowers
Employees who report fraud, waste, abuse, or illegality at a federal agency find that it is often the first step in a long process frequently marked by retaliation. Peer support may help these whistleblowers persevere under these sometimes difficult circumstances.
During investigations, social status and the reputation of the whistleblower are often impugned. For example, whistleblowers are sometimes depicted as snitches, moles, spies, or tattletales and may be categorized as paranoid, disloyal, or disgruntled by leadership. Rarely are whistleblowers labeled protectors, patriots, or heroes, despite the few high profile cases that come to light, such as Karen Silkwood, Erin Brockovich, or Frank Serpico.
More often, whistleblowers’ reputations, especially in civil sectors, are damaged through acts of discrimination, such as bullying; mobbing (asking other employees to monitor and report on the activities of the whistleblower); ostracizing the employee from the team; devaluing the contributions or the performance of the whistleblower; blackballing from other jobs or opportunities; doublebinding with difficult tasks to complete; gaslighting by calling into question the memory of the whistleblower, the reality of the accusation, or its scope; and marginalization. Accusations of misusing funds, inaccurately recording time and attendance, and disputing their judgement are all tactics used to socially isolate and harass whistleblowers into dropping their case or leaving the organization.3
Furthermore, this level of ostracism has documented impact on the psychological and physical well-being of the employee and negative consequences to the overall functioning of the organization.6 Consequences, such as physical violence and property damage at the time of termination and at other betrayals have occurred.3,7 Other whistleblowers have reported being threatened in person or on social media, harassed, and assaulted, especially in the military.
Whistleblowers, similar to others who are bullied in the workplace often described feelings such as fear, depression, anxiety, loneliness, and humiliation.8 These feelings can lead to whistleblowers needing treatment for substance abuse, depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicidal ideation.9 Multiple studies on depression and PTSD show a correlation to increased morbidity and mortality.10 However, whistleblowing retaliation is not clearly established as a traumatic stressor in relation to PTSD.11
Insomnia and other sleep disturbances are not uncommon among whistleblowers who also note they have resorted to smoking, overeating, alcohol misuse, or medication to manage their distress. Health consequences also include migraines, muscle tension, gastrointestinal conditions, increased blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease.12
Peer Support Models
Studies of peer-to-peer programs for veterans, law enforcement officers, widows, cancer patients, disaster victims, and others bound by survivorship suggest that peer groups can be an effective means of support, even though the model may vary or be adapted to a specific population. In general, peer support is centered on a common experience, shared credibility, confidentiality, and trust. The approach is meant to provide nonjudgmental support that assists with decision making and resilience and provides comfort and hope. Most peer support or mentorship models require some level of peer counselor screening, competency training on an intervention model, supervision, monitoring, and case management by a more senior or credentialed mental health professional.13
The Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) recognized that health care systems that support civil servants, military members, and veterans can benefit from partnerships with internal (eg, human resources, unions, or dedicated EAP) or external (eg, nonprofit and service organizations) employee peer support programs. The DCoE noted that peer networks facilitate referrals to medical care when threats of suicide or harm to others exists, offer additional case management support, and assist professionals in understanding the patient experience.13
Peer support offered at VA hospitals is conducted by peers who are supervised by mental health clinic staff (usually social workers).14 Law enforcement EAP is another example of peer support within an organization to augment mental health and resilience among officers who have experienced first-responder trauma.
External peer support resources can be accessed through partnerships or referrals. For example, the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) relies on survivors of military deaths to support each other through bereavement. Although the DoD offers casualty assistance and mental health care to grieving families, the level of peer support differs from TAPS.15 In another example, Castellano documented the benefits of a reciprocal peer support model implemented across 10 peer-based call center programs that manage high risk-populations.16 Core training was consistent across all programs, and mental health professionals supervised call center peer support providers. This peer/clinician collaboration enhances the overall community mental health efforts.
