Survey results on the boundary between “guidance” and “power harassment” in the workplace

At what point does "guidance" in the workplace become "power harassment"? According to a survey conducted by the Labor Lawyer Guide, operated by Asano Sogo Law Office, the most common behavior considered to be power harassment was telling the person, ``Maybe this job isn't for you'' (86.0%).

When asked about their experiences of experiencing or seeing or hearing about power harassment at work, a total of 82.7% answered that they had experienced or heard of power harassment (41.7%) and that they had experienced it themselves (41.0%). Only 16.3% answered "Never."

The most frequently cited behavior that ``I think is power harassment'' was ``Telling the person that he or she might not be suitable for this job'' (86.0%), followed by ``It's not urgent, but contacting the person via chat after hours or on holidays'' (76.7%), and third place was ``Encouraging the person to join a drinking party'' (68.3%).

On the other hand, regarding actions that ``I think are within the scope of guidance'', the top responses were ``Delegating less difficult work to the person while they continue to make mistakes'' (87.7%) and ``Setting goals slightly higher than the person's ability'' (81.3%).

When asked about the dividing line between "guidance" and "power harassment," the most frequently cited factor was "strongness of language/tone" (87.0%). This was followed by ``Is there a business necessity'' (64.7%) and ``Frequency/persistence'' (62.3%).

I asked them if they ever felt that their words or actions might be interpreted as power harassment. As a result, 51.6% answered ``Yes'' (total of ``Often'' and ``Sometimes''), 21.7% said ``I don't have the position or opportunity to provide guidance or caution,'' 15.0% said ``Not at all,'' and 10.7% said ``Almost never.''

The most common response when experiencing or witnessing power harassment was ``I couldn't do anything'' (25.7%), which, when combined with ``I put up with it'' (21.7%), rose to 47.4%.

14.0% said they ``consulted with someone close to them, such as a family member or colleague,'' and 10.3% said ``I refuted or protested, or thought about changing jobs or resigning.'' 5.3% of respondents said they ``consulted with the company (supervisor, human resources, consultation desk),'' and only 2.0% said they ``consulted with someone outside the company (Labor Standards Office, lawyer, etc.).''

The survey was conducted online among 300 people in their 20s to 60s. The period is June 12th to 19th.