The aim of the study was to examine how the whistleblowing function was applied and perceived by different actors in larger workplaces in order to analyze if there is a connection between organizational culture, power relations, and the willingness to report misconduct. The background of the study was the Swedish whistleblowing legislation requiring organizations with more than 50 employees to establish internal reporting channels for handling wrongdoing. The research questions concerned how managers and employees perceived the purpose and function of the whistleblowing system, how they described their experiences of reporting or handling misconduct, and which factors were perceived to influence the use of the system. A qualitative method was applied, where four semi-structured interviews were conducted with two employees and two managers working in organizations with more than 50 employees. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis to identify recurring patterns in the material. The results showed that the whistleblowing function was generally perceived as an important tool for reporting serious misconduct in a secure and anonymous way. However, it was rarely used in practice and was mainly viewed as a last resort when other internal channels, such as dialogue with the closest manager, were not considered safe or enough.

Keywords: Whistleblowing, Organizational culture, Leadership, Power relations, Reporting misconduct