SB 553 Workplace Violence Prevention California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) No. 553 into law on September 30, 2023. This new law requires nearly all California employers to establish protocols for handling and resolving incidents of workplace violence - bringing with it some very specific requirements. The law takes effect July 1, 2024, and does not include a grace period for implementation.
Fraud causes heartache and a complete disintegration of trust I recently shared a story about a former organization being scammed and how that series of events affected my passion for speaking up. I have another story that is even more harrowing as it involved a long term and trusted employee who took it upon himself to run a second set of books within the organization - for years.
Fraud can strike when you least expect it. Here's our story... This is the true story of one of WhistleBlower Security's previous sister companies. When I started WhistleBlower Security so many years ago, little did I realize that I was about to discover that I had been working for a business that was in the process of being scammed. The irony of this still sits with me to this day and I think drives some of my passion and commitment to ensuring employees have options to speak up.
Trust and support should not be a limited workplace commodity Many employees feel that trust and support given out by leadership is hard to come by. In their organization there is a convinced view that many of the decisions that are made are unjust. This sentiment of workplace injustice can breed employee dissatisfaction and disempowerment, hindering collaboration and productivity. When employees believe that trust and support in the workplace is genuinely provided, this crucial aspect of a workplace culture will help form the bedrock of a positive workplace environment that encourages productivity, collaboration, and overall well-being. When employees feel trusted and supported by colleagues and leadership, they are more likely to be better engaged in their job duties, and they will feel encouraged to contribute new and creative ideas.
Fostering a psychologically safe workplace culture is crucial Today's rapidly evolving workplace landscape is depending more and more on organizations building a culture of psychological safety into their very core operations. The workplace is built on a variety of diverse people, cultures, personalities, ideas and challenges, so it goes without saying that creating a believably safe environment for employees to prosper is the linchpin for allowing them to unleash their full potential. An environment where all individuals feel empowered to speak-up, raise concerns, and challenge the status quo without fear of any type of judgment, is an environment prepared to harness the collective intelligence and creativity of the workforce to drive innovation and solve problems.
Whistleblower hotlines connect employees to management A whistleblower hotline is an important method of connecting your employees with management in order to gain a holistic understanding of a company's workplace culture. In the past, the word 'whistleblower' had many negative connotations associated with it. The word would be associated with snitch, rat, traitor. The list went on. Essentially, whistleblowers were considered a person nobody wanted to be associated with. There may still be a little noise or confusion around the word, but generally, society understands that whistleblowers play an important role in keeping a company and its management accountable for proper and safe business conduct.