Half of Workplace Bullying Victims "Just Endure or Pretend Not to Know"

Few Report to Company or Related Agencies
More Non-Regular Workers Experience Workplace Harassment Than Regular Workers

One in three office workers has experienced 'workplace harassment,' but more than half either endure it silently or pretend not to know.

On the 9th, Workplace Gapjil 119 commissioned the public opinion research firm Global Research to survey 1,000 office workers nationwide aged 19 and older from December 2 to 11 last year about the status of workplace harassment. The survey results showed that 35.9% of respondents said they had experienced workplace harassment in the past year, an increase of 5.4 percentage points compared to 30.5% in the first quarter of last year.

Non-regular workers (41.3%) experienced workplace harassment more than regular workers (32.3%), and non-office workers (39.4%) more than office workers (32.4%). By type, the experiences included ▲insults and defamation 23.5%, ▲unfair orders 19.6%, and ▲assault and verbal abuse 19.1%.

Regarding responses to workplace harassment, 51.3% said they 'endured it or pretended not to know,' exceeding half. This was followed by ▲protesting individually or with colleagues at 30.1%, ▲quitting the company at 23.7%, ▲reporting to the company or labor union at 12.8%, and ▲reporting to related agencies at 5.0%.

The percentage of respondents who said the level of workplace harassment was severe increased from 46.6% in the first quarter of last year to 54.0%, and those who considered self-harm or death due to workplace harassment rose from 15.7% to 22.8% during the same period.

Kim Yu-gyeong, a labor attorney at Workplace Gapjil 119, emphasized, "We need to pay attention to the increase in victims who have considered self-harm or death and the fact that reports and measures under the law have not been properly implemented." Attorney Kim pointed out, "Workplace harassment is a human rights violation and a deprivation of the right to work safely. This result reconfirms the need for comprehensive discussions from the perspective of restoring workplace democracy, along with seeking ways for the law to function effectively."

Meanwhile, the government and the People Power Party announced on the 7th their plan to enact a special law that allows punishment for serious workplace harassment with just one offense and guarantees a rehearing procedure that requires the Labor Relations Commission's judgment if the victim is dissatisfied with the investigation results conducted by the employer.