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W ORKPLACE B ULLYING IN J APAN Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training (JILPT) Department of Industrial Relations Researcher (Labour Law) Shino Naito (naito@jil.go.jp) 2013 JILPT Seminar on Workplace Bullying and Harassment Tokyo, 27-28 February 2013

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C ONTENTS Current situation with regard to workplace bullying - Trend of increase-decrease etc. - Prevalence etc. - Consequences Background and reasons for the occurrence of workplace bullying National policies against workplace bullying Intervention and prevention on the part of companies and trade unions Critique and conclusion 2

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C URRENT SITUATION WITH REGARD TO WORKPLACE BULLYING I NCREASE OF COUNSELING OF BULLYING IN LABOUR BUREAUX 3 FY2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Others Bullying Resignation Other working conditions Employers suggestion to resign Lowering working conditions dismissal

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4 Current situation with regard to workplace bullying Bullying acts reported in conciliation cases dealt with by Labour Bureaux

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C URRENT SITUATION WITH REGARD TO WORKPLACE BULLYING C OMPENSATION FOR W ORKERS WITH M ENTAL I NJURIES 5 FY2009FY2010FY2011 Number of applications for compensation for worker with mental injuries 113611811272 Number of cases with compensation decision 234308325 Received (horrible) harassment, bullying or assault 16 (of which 1 was suicide) 39 (of which 5 were suicide) 40 (of which 3 were suicide) Trouble with superior 9 (of which 1 was a suicide case) 17 (of which 2 were suicide) 16 (of which 4 were suicide) Trouble with colleague 002 (of which none were suicide) Trouble with subordinate 01 (of which 1 was suicide) 2 (of which 1 was a suicide) Source: Status of workers compensation paid for brain and heart disorders and mental disorder FY2009-2011, MLHW

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C URRENT SITUATION WITH REGARD TO WORKPLACE BULLYING P REVALENCE - 1 6 Experiences of Workplace Bullying - 25.3% experienced in past 3 years (MHLW, 2012) - 21.9% in past 3 years (Jichiro, 2010) by gender - 26.5% of males and 23.9% of females (MHLW, 2012) - 19.8% of males and 24.5% of females (Jichiro, 2010) - 45.0% of male applicants and 54.6% of female applicants in bullying conciliation cases (JILPT, 2010) - 39.8% of male applicants and 59.9% of female applicants in bullying conciliation cases (JILPT, 2013)

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C URRENT SITUATION WITH REGARD TO WORKPLACE BULLYING P REVALENCE - 2 7 by age - high in 30-39 and 40-49 age groups (MHLW, 2012; Jichiro, 2010; JILPT, 2010 and 2013) Number of workplace bullying cases PercentageIf exclude unclear 10-19 10.40.7 20-29 165.711.2 30-39 4114.428.7 40-49 4716.532.9 50-59 196.713.3 60 & older 196.713.3 Unclear 14149.6 Total 284100 Data: JILPT survey which analysed the contents of 284 bullying conciliation cases handled by six Labour Bureaus in FY2011

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C URRENT SITUATION WITH REGARD TO WORKPLACE BULLYING P REVALENCE - 3 8 by forms of employment - Higher in permanent workers than non-permanent workers (MHLW, 2012) - But, high in agency workers (Jichiro, 2010; JILPT, 2010) by occupation High in nursing, childcare, medical care and welfare jobs (Jichiro, 2010) by industry High in medical and welfare and manufacturing industry (JILPT, 2013)

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C URRENT SITUATION WITH REGARD TO WORKPLACE BULLYING O RGANISATIONAL STATUS OF BULLIES AND VICTIMS 9 Status of victims Managerial 31.1% and non-managerial 24.8% (MHLW, 2012) Status of bullies Supervisors 77.7%, seniors 15.7%, permanent workers (to non-permanent workers) 10.6%, colleagues among permanent workers 4.5%, colleagues among non-permanent workers 2.4% (multiple answers)(MHLW, 2012)

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C URRENT SITUATION WITH REGARD TO WORKPLACE BULLYING C ATEGORIES OF BULLYING 10 Intimidation, defamation, insult, or slander (mental abuse) Forcing the employee to perform certain tasks which are clearly unnecessary for the business of the company, impossible to be performed, or interfere or interrupt with their normal duties (excessive work demands) Isolation, ostracization, or neglect (cutting off from human relationships) Excessively inquiring into the private affairs of the employee (invasion of privacy) Ordering an employee to perform menial tasks that are unreasonable in relation to the companys business or tasks, which are far below the employees ability or experience. Also includes not providing any work at all for the employee. (insufficient work demands) Assault (physical abuse) others (MHLW, 2012) ( (%)

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C URRENT SITUATION WITH REGARD TO WORKPLACE BULLYING C ONSEQUENCES - 1 11 Mental health - risk of psychological stress reaction was 4 to 5 times higher and of onset of PTSD symptoms was 8 times higher in workplace bullying victims, compared to those who were not exposed to bullying (Tsuno et al., 2010) - number of days of sick leave suggest that the more times a victim is bullied, the greater the ill effects on mental health and spiritual quality of life (Hyogo Institute for Traumatic Stress, 2011a)

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C URRENT SITUATION WITH REGARD TO WORKPLACE BULLYING C ONSEQUENCES - 2 12 Work performance - mild correlation between time management, power of concentration, social functions and productivity, and the more the exposure, the lower was the performance in these three work aspects (Hyogo Institute for Traumatic Stress, 2011a) - work performance of the victims was much lower than those who were not exposed to workplace bullying (Hyogo Institute for Traumatic Stress, 2011b)

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13 B ACKGROUND AND REASONS FOR THE OCCURRENCE OF WORKPLACE BULLYING What do you think could be backgrounds and causes of harassment? Overwork and stress caused by staff cuts or too few staff Lack of workplace communication Results improvement pressure or results focus from company Managers are too busy, lack free time Diverse forms of employment Related to apprenticeship system unique to industry Business structure changes (resulting in personnel transfers), workplace environment changes Low wage structure of industry Weaker human relations and lack of trusting relations between bosses and subordinates, or between colleagues Disposition of violators and lack of awareness of harassment Lack of training for managers Weak awareness of human rights and respect for individual Disappearance of people in workplace who sought consultation or arbitration Less communication ability Weaker management abilities of managers Sense of right because pay money (when harassers are customers) Data: JILPT Interview Survey for Employers and Trade Unions on Measures Against Workplace Bullying (2011)

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B ACKGROUND AND REASONS FOR THE OCCURRENCE OF WORKPLACE BULLYING C HARACTERISTICS WHICH ARE COMMON AMONG WORKPLACES WHICH HAD CONSULTATIONS ON BULLYING 14 Data: MHLW, 2012 (Company Survey)

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B ACKGROUND AND REASONS FOR THE OCCURRENCE OF WORKPLACE BULLYING W ORKPLACE CHARACTERISTICS ( BY HARASSMENT EXPERIENCE ) 15 Data: MHLW, 2012 (Employee Survey)

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B ACKGROUND AND REASONS FOR THE OCCURRENCE OF WORKPLACE BULLYING COMMUNICATION IN THE WORKPLACE - 1 16 Data: MHLW, 2012 (Employee Survey) It is easy to communicate to my company that I feel worries, dissatisfaction or problems

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B ACKGROUND AND REASONS FOR THE OCCURRENCE OF WORKPLACE BULLYING COMMUNICATION IN THE WORKPLACE - 2 17 Data: MHLW, 2012 (Employee Survey) It is easy to communicate to my boss that I feel worries, dissatisfaction or problems

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B ACKGROUND AND REASONS FOR THE OCCURRENCE OF WORKPLACE BULLYING COMMUNICATION IN THE WORKPLACE - 3 18 Data: MHLW, 2012 (Employee Survey) There is smooth communication between colleagues

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B ACKGROUND AND REASONS FOR THE OCCURRENCE OF WORKPLACE BULLYING COMMUNICATION IN THE WORKPLACE - 4 19 Data: MHLW, 2012 (Employee Survey) I have a colleague with whom I can discuss issues other than work

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3. N ATIONAL POLICIES AGAINST WORKPLACE BULLYING 20 The first national meeting on workplace bullying started in 2012 - Round-table Conference on Issues of Workplace Bullying and Harassment and Working Group for Round-table Conference - Working Group published its Report in January 2012, and Round-table Conference published its Recommendations for Prevention and Resolution of Workplace Bullying ( Power Harassment) in March 2012.

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3. N ATIONAL POLICIES AGAINST WORKPLACE BULLYING W ORKING GROUP S REPORT - 1 21 Definition of Workplace bullying ( Power Harassment ) - The Working Group defines power harassment as an act by an employee using his superiority, such as position of seniority or relationship with a co-worker which causes such co-worker mental or physical stress or a degradation of the working environment beyond the appropriate scope of the companys business. - The term superiority at the workplace is not limited to occupational position; it includes any interactions between seniors and juniors or between colleagues of equal standing or even from subordinates to superiors, based on the various backgrounds of superiority.

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3. N ATIONAL POLICIES AGAINST WORKPLACE BULLYING W ORKING GROUP S REPORT - 2 22 Categories of bullying ( Power Harassment ) (i) Assault (physical abuse) (ii) Intimidation, defamation, insult, or slander (mental abuse) (iii) Isolation, ostracization, or neglect (cutting off from human relationships) (iv) Forcing the employee to perform certain tasks which are clearly unnecessary for the business of the company, impossible to be performed, or interfere or interrupt with their normal duties (excessive work demands) (v) Ordering an employee to perform menial tasks that are unreasonable in relation to the companys business or tasks, which are far below the employees ability or experience. Also includes not providing any work at all for the employee. (insufficient work demands) (vi) Excessively inquiring into the private affairs of the employee (invasion of privacy)

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4. I NTERVENTION AND PREVENTION ON THE PART OF COMPANIES AND TRADE UNIONS 23 Employers implementing intervention and prevention 45.4% - Companies with workers more than 1,000 = 76.3% - 300 to 999 workers = 53.9% - 100 to 299 workers = 40.3% - workers less than 99 = 18.2% (MHLW, 2012)

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4. I NTERVENTION AND PREVENTION ON THE PART OF COMPANIES AND TRADE UNIONS C HARACTERISTICS OF THE MEASURES TAKEN BY COMPANIES AND TRADE UNIONS 24 Main 3 measures + 2 (1) set up and operate a consultation desk, hotline and helpline (2) understand the actual situation by questionnaire surveys (3) provide awareness raising, training, and education (4) promote communication and create an open atmosphere at the workplace (5) hold discussions and share information on bullying between labor and management ( JILPT Interview Survey for Employers and Trade Unions on Measures Against Workplace Bullying, 2011)

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5. C RITIQUE AND CONCLUSION 25 - Not many employers and trade unions implementing intervention and prevention - Even if they take some measures, their effectiveness are much questioned (ex. very few workers (1.8% in companies helpline; 1.4% outside consultation helpline) consult the matters, and 46.7% did nothing after they were bullied (MHLW, 2012) - Especially Japanese trade unions are reluctant to tackle this issues - Measures of intervention and prevention has not yet established - Significance to tackle this issue and knowledge of consequences after bullying has not been shared - Only few research surveys operated = limited understanding the actual situation - Effectiveness of the national policy is limited (ex. Round-table Conferences Recommendations) Thank you very much for your attention and interest !