I have been in touch with a number of whistle-blowers. Some want to disclose their identity, some are well known and some have agreed to tell their stories.
For example, there is one case where an individual had all their work taken away and had nothing to do all week; however, at 2:30 on Friday afternoon, the person was asked to do all the work that should have been done during the week. Some individuals having been followed home. Some have experienced psychological harassment.
When the whistle-blower starts to be ostracized in the workplace, this person becomes a pariah among their colleagues. When individuals at senior levels begin to dislike and ostracize the person, and engage in reprisals, employees, regardless of their position level, naturally tend to distance themselves from the person. They tend to isolate the person, remove them from teams and so forth. Direct reprisals occur, but there are also indirect impacts on the individual's quality of work life.