How to Prevent Workplace Harassment

June 21, 2022

Moral harassment, one of the psychological harassment in the workplace, needs to be taken into consideration to prevent in many organizations as well as power and sexual harassment.
However, compared to other types of harassment, moral harassment is less likely to become apparent.

As a countermeasure to prevent these kinds of harassment written above, some companies may conduct employee training. If you are considering conducting such training, there will be some points to be aware of.
This article provides a description of moral harassment, the difference from power or sexual harassment, and its countermeasures to prevent the matter.

Contents

01Moral Harassment
What is moral harassment?
Difference from power harassment and sexual harassment
Examples of moral harassment in the workplace

02Laws Related to Workplace Harassment Prevention
Safety Considerations under the Labor Contract Act
Comprehensive Labor Policy Promotion Law

03Workplace Initiatives to Prevent Moral Harassment
Enhance Awareness of Harassment
Develop Countermeasures
Conduct Training

04Summary

Moral Harassment

What kind of actions are regarded as moral harassment?
The following explains the definition of moral harassment, and its differences from power and sexual harassment

What is moral harassment?

Moral harassment means harassing words and actions that are out of line with moral principles and cause mental distress to the other party.

In many cases, the victim’s damage is not easily noticed by others since it does not manifest itself as obvious violence. It can occur not only in relationships within the workplace but between spouses at home. Also, it should be noted that moral harassment is recognized as a labor problem when it occurs in the workplace.

Regardless of his or her social standing, there will be possibilities that it occurs.

Difference from power harassment and sexual harassment

Power harassment and sexual harassment are categorized by the same type of harassment as moral harassment.

Power harassment is when a perpetrator takes advantage of his or her socially superior position to inflict physical or emotional pain on those in a weaker position. In the workplace, it will be concerned with the cases by a superior against a subordinate.

Sexual harassment is the infliction of pain by sexual words or actions that are against the will of the other person. In some cases, the perpetrator takes advantage of a socially superior position.

Harassment needs to be addressed according to each type. Be sure to properly understand the difference between power harassment, sexual harassment, and moral harassment.

Examples of moral harassment in the workplace

Moral harassment has no clear definition and is more difficult to judge than power harassment or sexual harassment.
In many cases, the perpetrator is unaware of what he or she is doing. How it is received depends on the injured party or relationship between them.

The following are specific examples of words and actions that are generally considered to fall under the category of moral harassment.

Ignores greetings and talking to others
Dare to scold someone in public for a work-related mistake and embarrass them
Employee interactions that exclude fellow employees
Not giving a job

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Laws Related to Workplace Harassment Prevention

Japan has established some laws protecting workers.

The following explain some of them related to harassment.

Safety Considerations under the Labor Contract Act

The Labor Contract Law establishes a duty of care for safety for companies. The duty of safety consideration is an obligation on the part of the company to ensure the safety of its workers. Failure to ensure an appropriate work environment that is physically and mentally safe is considered a breach of this duty, and the company will be held liable.

Moral harassment is difficult to define itself, however, if a situation in which moral harassment is occurring is left unchecked, it may be considered a violation of the duty of care for safety.

The Labor Contract Law stipulates the following as "considerations for worker safety".

Article 5 The employer shall, in accordance with the labor contract, take necessary care to enable workers to work while ensuring the safety of their lives, bodies, etc.

[Source.e-Gov Legal Search "Act No. 128 of 2007 Labor Contract Act

Comprehensive Labor Policy Promotion Law

The Law for Comprehensive Promotion of Labor Policies was enacted in 1966 to realize a society in which workers can utilize their abilities and work with a sense of fulfillment.
Amendments were made in May 2019, making it mandatory to prevent power harassment in the workplace. Accordingly, it is now commonly referred to as the "Power Harassment Prevention Act".

For large companies, this amendment came into effect on June 1, 2020, making the prevention of power harassment mandatory. For small and medium-sized enterprises, it also came into effect on April 1, 2022. It is important to work on the prevention of power harassment in conjunction with the prevention of moral harassment.

The revised Law for Comprehensive Promotion of Labor Policies adds the following to prevent power harassment.

(xv) Enhance measures necessary to promote the resolution of problems arising from behavior that are detrimental to the working environment of workers in the workplace.

[Source.e-Gov Laws and Regulations Search "Act No. 132 of 1966 on Comprehensive Promotion of Labor Measures and Stabilization of Employment and Improvement of Working Lives, etc. of Workers

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Workplace Initiatives to Prevent Moral Harassment

Because moral harassment can occur regardless of the position or title of those involved, it is important that each company needs to make efforts to prevent it.
The following explain some countermeasures.

Enhance Awareness of Harassment

Since employee understanding and cooperation are essential in preventing harassment, efforts will be required to enhance awareness of such issues among employees in your organization.

First, inform all employees of the specific behaviors that constitute moral harassment and the measures to be taken against the harasser to prevent such behavior, and to instill in them an awareness of the need to prevent moral harassment. It is also important to stipulate anti-harassment policies in employment regulations.

Develop Countermeasures

Assuming that an employee has been the victim of harassment, establish a supportive environment within your organization. Ideally, it should be widely available to employees, even if they have difficulty deciding for themselves whether a case constitutes harassment or not.

In some cases, victims may be concerned that they will be gossiped about in the workplace or that the perpetrator will find out about them. Taking into account such situation, the institution structure should be established to protect the privacy of the victim regarding the fact of the consultation.

Conduct Training

To enhance awareness of harassment in your workplace, employee training will be one of the most effective methods. Well-understanding toward the issue will result in preventing harassment and retaining awareness. Also, it will help for further engagement to conduct training on a regular basis.

For effective training, elearning will be a great method.
Depending on your needs, you can customize or personalize, or even create content by yourself. This means that different content can be prepared for different positions.

Elearning, as the feature of it, makes it possible to conduct online learning. Even in remote working, content is ready for trainees.

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Summary

All personnel in a company can be perpetrators or victims of moral harassment.
Furthermore, because it occurs through petty things, employees should be firmly rooted in an awareness of the need to prevent moral harassment.

Create a safe environment where employees can feel free to consult, and develop an organizational structure to promptly identify the problem of moral harassment that is occurring. It is important to proactively conduct training sessions to share information on what kind of behavior constitutes moral harassment and the risks involved when such harassment occurs.

When you are thinking of implementing elearning for employee onboarding, “learningBOX” will be one of the solutions. It is a cloud-based learning management system and allows you to create a variety of content including quizzes, PDFs, videos, slides, and more.
You can easily design your own original learning courses in combination with face-to-face classroom learning.

In addition to the flexible content creation, personalized learning will boost each employee's understanding and knowledge by customizable settings.

There will be something you can do to improve your work environment.

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How to Prevent Workplace Harassment

Moral harassment is a problem in many companies. Like power harassment and sexual harassment, it is one type of harassment that needs to be addressed. On the other hand, compared to other types of harassment, it is more difficult for the problem to become apparent, and in some cases, even if it is occurring, it may go unnoticed. If you are considering conducting training on harassment in your company, you should also learn about the necessary countermeasures for moral harassment...