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Fear of reprisals was such a dominant theme that it rated its own section in the Phoenix report, which notes that the issue was identified and discussed by all groups before it was even introduced as a topic of discussion.

“Most participants believe that fear of reprisals for reporting wrongdoing is a real concern,” the report says, though the extent to which the concern is real can vary.

“For example, it was suggested that some departments are probably worse than others, given their internal culture,” says the report. “In other words, the fear is justified, but to different degrees depending on context and circumstances.”

Moreover, a majority of managers in each focus group said concerns about reprisals for reporting wrongdoing “are as justified or more justified” for public service managers, in part because they have no union to support them.

Focus group participants routinely identified a range of potential reprisals, including ostracism, being blacklisted from assignments, job loss, being re-assigned or transferred, being given an increased workload or work no one else wants, harassment, poor evaluations, inability to get references and absence of promotion opportunities.

Many used the expression “career limiting move” or the acronym CLM to refer to the phenomenon of reprisals in a general way.

Asked what concerns an employee might have about reporting a wrongdoing, managers most often identified fear, the report says. “This included fear of lack of support, fear of loss of anonymity, fear of reprisals, fear of taking on hierarchy/power, fear of the effect of reporting on the work climate and fear of repercussions.”