Whistleblowing, chartes éthiques, dispositifs d'alertes professionnelles… Quels enjeux possibles en santé-travail ?

Whistleblowing, together with acts of ethical conduct, are increasingly popular in the workplace. A whistleblower bears witness to illicit actions, alerting those authorities having the power to stop such wrongdoing. Beyond the field of economic relations, whistleblowing can also involve the regulation of employment practices, which are generally determined unilaterally by the employer, and application of sanctions as appropriate. This aspect of the question can raise a certain number of issues, including the domain of health regulations in the workplace. This is not limited to managerial issues, but also involves workers' rights and health rights. On one hand, the issues concern fundamental workers' rights (how is the whistleblower protected, what are the rights of the denounced person(s), how is the wrongdoing recorded and how is data collected?) and the rights of defense (what is the procedure if a sanction is required, what is the appropriate sanction for “poor faith” whistleblowing?). On the other hand, such practices may have an impact in terms of mental health in that the system requires employees to comply with ambivalent behavioral patterns, which may lead to internal stress and tension. In the framework of these new practices, occupational medicine physicians must take into consideration these different aspects to acquire a comprehensive knowledge of the working conditions and potential sources of stress for employees, particularly executives.