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For a compliance program to be effective, employees must be willing to report suspected wrongdoing.  But it cannot be assumed that employees who see or suspect something will say something.  It has been estimated that less than half of all employees who witness wrongdoing report it.  Wells Fargo is a good case in point.  It is clear that a large number of employees recognized that something was not right.  Some spoke up and were ignored.  Others didn’t even speak up.

We all like to believe that we are ethical people and that when faced with a tough choice we will do the right thing.  But the evidence suggests otherwise.  Good people often find themselves in situations that create strong social cues or even overt pressures to withhold information about misconduct.  The result is what’s known as “employee silence.”

Evidence suggests that silence is a problem in both the public and private sector, and in organizations both large and small. This past year, over 400,000 employees from more than 80 agencies responded to an attitude survey known as the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey.  As in years past, only around 60% responded with agreement to the statement “I can disclose a suspected violation of any law, rule or regulation without fear of reprisal.”  These results are consistent with a number of investigations in recent years that have suggested fairly widespread climates of silence in places like the Veterans Health Administration, the New York Federal Reserve Bank, General Motors, and parts of the U.S. intelligence and military community.

Why is employee silence so pervasive?  Research from psychology and organizational behavior suggest two primary factors that cause employees to withhold rather than disclose information.  The first is a sense of futility.   The second powerful reason for silence is fear of negative repercussions. 

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