33% of Office Workers Experience 'Workplace Harassment'... 60% of Reports Not Acknowledged

Smaller workplaces and lower wages worsen the issue
Most victims "endured or ignored it"
"We must eliminate blind spots and strengthen supervision and punishment"

#A company boss called 10 times in a row outside of work hours. When I didn’t answer, he scolded me the next day asking why I didn’t pick up. Previously, the boss had called after drinking with someone else, asking to stay over without any reason, suddenly gave me 100,000 won, and acted as if it was natural to sleep over. Because of this, I avoided his calls, but he kept questioning why I didn’t answer and has been ignoring me since that day. What should I do in this case? Should I report it as harassment? (Case received by Workplace Power Abuse 119 in July 2023)

It was found that 3 out of 10 office workers have experienced workplace harassment. Most of those who experienced workplace harassment answered that they endured it or pretended not to know because they felt the situation would not improve even if they responded. In fact, more than 60% of those who reported harassment were not recognized as victims.

On the 9th, Workplace Power Abuse 119 commissioned the public opinion research agency 'Embrain Public' to conduct a survey of 1,000 workers nationwide aged 19 and older, asking, "Have you experienced workplace harassment in the past year?" 33.3% answered yes. The survey was conducted over a week from the 9th to the 15th of last month.

Among the 333 respondents who had experienced workplace harassment, 48% said the harassment was 'serious.' Those working in smaller workplaces, with unstable employment, and lower wage levels experienced more severe harassment. Only 32% of respondents earning more than 5 million won per month answered 'serious,' while 60% of those earning less than 1.5 million won per month gave the same answer. The percentage of respondents who answered 'serious' was higher among non-regular workers (52.8%) than regular workers (44.6%), and higher among workers in workplaces with fewer than 5 employees (56.5%) than those in workplaces with more than 300 employees (41.9%).

One out of ten (9.3%) of those who experienced workplace harassment considered extreme measures. By age group, those in their 30s had the highest rate at 15.2%. By employment type, non-regular workers (10.9%) were higher than regular workers (8.2%), and non-office workers (10.3%) were higher than office workers (8.4%).

Most victims endured or pretended not to know when they were harassed (65.5%). Next were those who quit their jobs (27.9%) and those who protested individually or with colleagues (23.7%). Among the 315 respondents who chose these three responses, 69.5% said they did not report because they felt the situation would not improve even if they responded. The next most common reason for not reporting was fear of future disadvantages in personnel matters, at 22.2%.

In fact, even among those who bravely reported workplace harassment (28 people), more than half (60.7%) were not recognized as victims. Regarding whether the company promptly fulfilled its obligations to objectively investigate and protect the victims after the report, 64.3% answered 'no.' More than one in four (28.6%) experienced unfavorable treatment because of the report.

Kwon Doo-seop, a lawyer and representative of Workplace Power Abuse 119, said, "It has been four years since the Workplace Harassment Prohibition Act was enacted, but workplace harassment has not decreased as expected, and especially vulnerable workers such as non-regular employees and those in small workplaces suffer more. For the half-hearted Workplace Harassment Prohibition Act to be effective, it is necessary to eliminate blind spots such as workplaces with fewer than 5 employees and primary contractors, strengthen supervision and punishment, and provide education that can change organizational culture."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.