power harassment

Power harassment is a form of harassment and workplace bullying in which someone in a position of greater power uses that power unjustifiably against a lower-ranking person, typically just for a display of dominance.Roberts, G. S. (2014). Power Harassment'and the Workplace Environment in Japan: The Evolution of the Concept Amidst Uncertain Times (Doctoral dissertation, Waseda University).{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1Y7UDwAAQBAJ&dq=power+harassment+japan&pg=PA45 | title=Drunk Japan: Law and Alcohol in Japanese Society | isbn=978-0-19-007085-4 | last1=West | first1=Mark D. | date=11 March 2020 | publisher=Oxford University Press }} It includes a range of behavior from mild irritation and annoyances to serious abuses which can even involve forced activity beyond the boundaries of the job description. Prohibited in some countries, power harassment is considered a form of illegal discrimination and political and psychological abuse. Types of power harassment include physical or psychological attacks, segregation, excessive or demeaning work assignments, and intrusion upon the victim's personal life.{{Cite web | url = https://www.morganlewis.com/pubs/ml-tmi_lf_japanpowerharassmentworkplace_28feb12 | accessdate = 2020-06-24 | title = Power Harassment in the Workplace | publisher = Morgan Lewis | date = 2012-02-28}}

Power harassment may combine with other forms of bullying and harassment, including sexual harassment, public humiliation, character assassination, robbery, property damage and even assault. In the context of sexual harassment, power harassment is distinguished from contra power harassment, in which the harasser is of lower rank than that of the victim, and peer harassment, in which the victim and harasser are of the same rank.{{Cite journal | first = Kathleen | last = McKinney | year = 1994 | title = Sexual harassment and college faculty members | journal = Deviant Behavior | volume = 15 | issue = 2 | page = 177 | doi = 10.1080/01639625.1994.9967966 }} The term "political power harassment" was coined by Ramona Rush in a 1993 paper on sexual harassment in academia.{{Cite book | title = Critical issues in communication: looking inward for answers | chapter = Natural Communications: An Unnatural Act for Mankind? | first = Ramona R. | last = Rush | year = 2001 | isbn = 9788170369905 | page = 318 | publisher = Sage}} Because it operates to reinforce and justify an existing hierarchy, political power harassment can be difficult to assess.{{Cite book | title = Women Transforming Communications: Global Intersections | chapter = 'Being All That We Can Be' | first = Ramona R. | last = Rush | year = 1996 | isbn = 9780803972674 | page = 147 | publisher = Sage}}

By country

= Japan =

Although power harassment is not unique to Japan, it has received significant attention in Japan as a policy and legal problem since the 1990s.{{Cite journal | title = Power Harassment: The Tort of Workplace Bullying in Japan | url = https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4wx1206r | journal = Pacific Basin Law Journal | volume = 32 | issue = 2 | last = Hsiao | first = Philip | year = 2015}} A government survey in 2016 found that more than 30% of workers had experienced power harassment in the preceding three years.{{Cite web | url = http://www.loc.gov/law/foreign-news/article/japan-law-to-prevent-powa-hara-power-harassment-takes-effect/ | accessdate = 2020-06-24 | title = Japan: Law to Prevent "Powa-Hara" (Power Harassment) Takes Effect | website = Global Legal Monitor | author = Sayuri Umeda | date = 2020-06-20}} The Japanese term "power harassment" ({{lang|ja-Hani|パワー・ハラスメント}} pawa harasumento, often shortened to pawahara) was independently coined by Yasuko Okada of Tokoha Gakuen Junior College in 2002.Yasuko Okada (岡田康子) [https://www.tokyo-jinken.or.jp/publication/tj_15_relay.html 職場で深刻化する「パワー・ハラスメント」]. In TOKYO JINKEN vol. 15. (Published 2002-09-20 by Tokyo Metropolitan Human Rights Promotion Center). The Japanese courts have applied the general compensation principle of Article 709 of the Civil Code of Japan to compensate victims of workplace bullying and power harassment.

In 2019, the National Diet adopted the Power Harassment Prevention Act, which amends the Labor Policy Comprehensive Promotion Act to require employers to address power harassment. The 2019 act creates a new Chapter 8 that addresses “remarks and behavior of people taking advantage of their superior positions in the workplace that exceed what is necessary and appropriate for the conduct of business, thereby harming the working environment of employees.”{{Cite web | url = https://elaws.e-gov.go.jp/search/elawsSearch/elaws_search/lsg0500/detail?lawId=341AC0000000132 | title = 労働施策の総合的な推進並びに労働者の雇用の安定及び職業生活の充実等に関する法律 [Labor Policy Comprehensive Promotion Act] | language = ja | at = 第八章職場における優越的な関係を背景とした言動に起因する問題に関して事業主の講ずべき措置等 | quote = 事業主は、職場において行われる優越的な関係を背景とした言動であつて、業務上必要かつ相当な範囲を超えたものによりその雇用する労働者の就業環境が害されることのないよう、当該労働者からの相談に応じ、適切に対応するために必要な体制の整備その他の雇用管理上必要な措置を講じなければならない}} The law took effect for large employers on June 1, 2020. It prohibits the retaliatory discharge of employees who complain about power harassment and requires employers to put systems in place for reporting and addressing power harassment.

=South Korea=

The topic of power harassment is known in South Korea as Gapjil, and it has been recently increasingly discussed in Korean society.{{Cite web |last=Bae |first=Jessie Yeung,Gawon |date=2022-07-04 |title=As Korean employees return to the office, so does 'gapjil' workplace harassment |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/04/asia/south-korea-gapjil-harassment-survey-intl-hnk/index.html |access-date=2025-04-02 |website=CNN |language=en}}