Abstract
M.A.
Whistleblowing can be defined as the disclosure by organisation members (former or
current) of illegal, immoral or illegitimate practices under the control of their
employers, to persons or organisations that may be able to effect action. There are
various factors that influence the extent to which people would be prepared to blow
the whistle. One of these factors is job satisfaction. The extent to which people are
satisfied in their jobs influences the extent to which the whistle will be blown.
However, the relationship between whistleblowing and job satisfaction has not been
studied in great detail and not at all in a South African context. The nature of this
relationship was explored among academic staff at a South African university by
means of a quantitative study. It was decided to conduct the study at the Auckland
Park Kingsway Campus (APK) of the University of Johannesburg (UJ) due to the
degree of transformation that has taken place at this institution in recent years and
thus being relevant regarding the issue of job satisfaction.
The study involved investigating the circumstances under which academic staff would
be prepared to blow the whistle, how far they would be prepared to go in terms of
making use of various channels to report wrongdoing, the level of job satisfaction, as
well as the relationship between job satisfaction and the responses of academic staff
members to whistleblowing. Examination of the findings revealed that overall the
academic staff of the University of Johannesburg are satisfied in their jobs and this
correlated, to a small degree, with the furthest reporting of offences that are minor in
nature. Overall, academic staff were more inclined to report wrongdoing internally.
Academic staff who had been employed at the university for more than ten years as
well as those who had no financial dependants were slightly more inclined to report
wrongdoing than those who had been employed for a shorter period of time and had
financial dependants.