With Corona, Workplace Bullying Resurfaces... Persistent Old Habits Despite 2 Years of Anti-Harassment Law Enforcement

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Go Hyemin (35, pseudonym), an office worker who is four months pregnant, participated in a company dinner last week, the first in a year since the With-Corona policy began. Although she could have skipped the dinner due to her pregnancy, she found it hard to refuse her supervisor A’s invitation to “at least show your face at the long-awaited dinner.” However, the gathering, held after a long time, was not pleasant. After several rounds of drinks, a drunken remark from Supervisor A spoiled the mood. A said, "If you’re not full-term, one or two shots of soju are fine," while pushing a glass toward her. Unable to hide her expression, Go said, "That’s not right," and left the table.

Kang Homin (38, pseudonym), who works at a small-to-medium enterprise, recently had to stay overnight at the funeral home for the company CEO’s mother. During the COVID-19 surge, visiting the funeral home itself would have been difficult, but after With-Corona, more guests came to the funeral, and there was a shortage of hands. Kang said, "The culture of kowtowing ultimately forces sacrifices on the lowest-ranking employees," adding, "I hope these outdated practices disappear."

Among office workers, the phrase "With-Corona has brought back workplace power harassment" is circulating. As companies shifted from remote work and video meetings to offline work after With-Corona, unreasonable work practices and harassment have become problematic again.

According to a recent survey by the Korea Labor Institute of 1,500 workers, 38% of respondents said they had experienced harassment at work. Among those who suffered harassment, 70% considered quitting or changing jobs. The institute stated, "The employment change rate among those who have experienced harassment at current or past workplaces is close to 70%," and added, "This indicates a high likelihood of employment changes due to workplace harassment." Regarding whether workplaces took action after harassment incidents, 4 to 5 out of 10 workplaces took no measures. The most common action taken at the workplace level was an apology from the perpetrator to the victim. Although the amended Labor Standards Act banning workplace harassment (known as the Workplace Harassment Prohibition Act) has been in effect for over two years, there are no proper penalties or sanctions. Moreover, it does not apply to small-scale workplaces, leaving field workers still exposed to these bad practices.

Park Jeomgyu, an operating committee member of Workplace Power Harassment 119, said, "Currently, 10 million domestic workers, including those in workplaces with fewer than five employees and special employment workers, are not covered by the Workplace Harassment Act," adding, "Even if the government cannot immediately amend the law, it needs to eliminate blind spots by recognizing these workers’ employment status through the Labor Office or other means."