If you learn of abusive or other illegal behavior at your workplace, you may feel bound by your conscience to reveal this conduct as a whistleblower. Doing so may cause retaliation against you, so you may want to consider seeing if other people in your workplace want to join you as whistleblowers.
Additional whistleblowers may bolster your case and defeat allegations by your superiors that you are lying. However, you might reveal your suspicions to the wrong people by asking them if they want to help you. Instead, you might first look for signs that one or more of your fellow workers are genuinely disturbed by what they see at your workplace.
Signs of workplace depression
Witnessing or experiencing illegal or abusive workplace behavior can cause work depression. You might notice a fellow employee exhibiting one or more symptoms of this condition. According to Healthline, depressed workers may have emotional problems like irritability, anger, sadness or even crying spells. These behaviors might seem out of pattern for a worker that you have come to know.
Depressed workers might also act bored or inattentive to what is going on. You may notice a worker who was once productive is now prone to making mistakes. A person who was once decisive and confident now has problems making decisions. A previously punctual worker might be late or absent. You might also notice a worker is losing weight and has never spoken about a recent diet or exercise regimen.
Remain cautious of approaching a worker
Even if a fellow worker exhibits signs of stress or depression, it does not necessarily mean the person knows of workplace misconduct and is ready to support you. Their distress may be due to personal matters having nothing to do with what is going on at work. Still, taking note of unusual behavior patterns may help you discreetly identify people who may support your case.