Harassment using a position of power, committed in the form of bullying, pestering and other conduct in the workplace, causes serious effects on the minds and bodies of victims. Cases of such harassment spoil the working environment. There is a pressing need to strengthen measures against the problem.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has announced a policy of legally requiring corporations to take preventive measures against harassment from positions of power in the workplace. The ministry hopes to ensure relevant bills are submitted to an ordinary Diet session in 2019.
In dealing with sexual harassment and workplace discrimination against pregnant women and those with infants, companies are required to adopt preventive measures such as setting up sections for providing consultation services under the Equal Employment Opportunity Law and other legislation. In contrast, the current situation regarding preventive measures against power harassment is that corporations are left to make necessary efforts on their own initiative.
More than 30 percent of workers have experienced harassment from a position of power over the past three years. Of the consultation requests received by the ministry's prefectural labor bureaus nationwide regarding the working environment in fiscal 2017, more than 72,000 cases concerned bullying and pestering behavior. The figure was the largest among such consultation requests for a sixth consecutive year. There were 88 cases in which mental disorders caused by harassment from positions of power were acknowledged to be work-related diseases.
There are upward trends in the number of such cases. This is largely due to the influence of a rise in public concern about power harassment, but it is clear that the situation cannot be overlooked.
Set clear standards
Asserting that the problem must be tackled as a pressing issue, the ministry had good reason to come out with the policy of writing preventive measures into law.
The specifics of the plan will be clarified in guidelines to be laid down later. Possible steps would include creating and improving arrangements for the provision of consultation services as well as company regulations. They must be designed to become effective.
It should be noted that it can be difficult to draw a line between a case of harassment using a position of power and appropriate guidance or rebuke given in the course of work. Corporate management has strong concerns about hindering efforts to develop human resources. To prevent confusion in the workplace, it is necessary to ensure the envisaged guidelines clarify criteria for judging any act to be a case of power harassment and to show specific examples.
Large corporations are making progress in implementing necessary measures, including creating sections for offering consultations, but many small- and medium-sized companies have been slow in this respect. It takes professional expertise to grasp the reality of power harassment and to deal with the problem, and such tasks weigh heavily on smaller businesses. Given this, administrative authorities need to support them through such measures as conducting seminars and providing advice.
Power harassment hurts the dignity of victims and dampens their motivation. It can trigger depression and other problems for victims. Such problems could lead to a leave of absence from work, retirement or suicide.
Such harassment could also spoil the atmosphere of an office, lowering productivity and causing a drain of personnel. Great losses could be caused to business management. Corporations should take this to heart.
Overwork-caused stress and the lack of workplace communication have been cited as factors behind power harassment. Rectifying these problems is also important as a preventive measure against death from overwork and suicide due to overwork-related stress.
Although labor representatives have demanded legislation for the prohibition of power harassment, there are many problems to be solved, such as clarifying requirements for judging any particular acts to be illegal. It is essential to judge the necessity of such legislation from medium- and long-term perspectives while taking a close look at future trends.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Nov. 25, 2018)
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