35.9% Experienced Workplace Harassment... Only 1 in 10 Reported It

Survey of 1,000 Office Workers Last Month
"Experienced Harassment" Shows Steady Increase

#During overall meeting times or when working in the office, I am singled out and subjected to abusive language such as "trash" and "traitor," as well as personal insults. When approving documents, if displeased, they throw the documents on the floor and sometimes throw objects. Due to insufficient sales performance, I am forced to start work early at 7 a.m., contrary to the labor contract, and the quitting time is not respected. (Case reported to Workplace Bullying 119 in September last year)

It was found that 3 out of 10 workers have experienced workplace bullying. Although the number of workers who responded that they have experienced bullying has steadily increased, only about 1 in 10 of them actually reported it.

On the 15th, Workplace Bullying 119 commissioned the public opinion research firm 'Embrain Public' to survey 1,000 workers nationwide aged 19 and older, asking whether they had experienced workplace bullying in the past year. As a result, 35.9% responded "yes." The percentage of workers responding "yes" was 29.6% in June last year, 30.1% in March, and 33.3% in May, showing a continuous upward trend. This survey was conducted from the 4th to the 11th of last month.

The response rate for "experienced workplace bullying" was highest in the accommodation and food service industry (43.1%), manufacturing (42.1%), and health and social welfare services (40.2%). By age group, those in their 30s had the highest rate at 43.3%, followed by those in their 40s (37.5%), 20s (34.7%), and 50s (29.2%). Respondents working 41 hours or more per week reported higher rates of bullying experience than average.

The most frequently experienced types of bullying were insults and defamation (22.2%) and unfair orders (20.8%). Verbal abuse and physical assault (17.2%), coercion outside of work duties (16.1%), and ostracism and discrimination (15.4%) followed. Insults and defamation and unfair orders were more commonly experienced by respondents with relatively long working hours. The overall average rate of experiencing insults and defamation was 22.2%, but among those working over 52 hours, it was 36.8%.

Among 10 victims of workplace bullying, only 1 reported the incident to their company, labor union, Ministry of Employment and Labor, National Human Rights Commission, Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, or other relevant institutions. 65.7% endured or pretended not to know, and 27.3% quit their jobs. The rate of quitting was higher among non-regular workers (42.9%), women (33.1%), non-union members (31.1%), non-office workers (37.8%), those working at workplaces with fewer than 5 employees (47.2%), general employees (42.4%), and workers working less than 15 hours (48.1%). The most common reason for not reporting was "because it seemed unlikely that the situation would improve even if I responded."

68.8% of workers were aware that the Workplace Bullying Prohibition Act is in effect, but awareness was relatively low among non-regular workers, non-union members, non-office workers, and low-wage workers. The awareness gap between workplaces with fewer than 5 employees (57.2%) and those with 300 or more employees (79.7%) was 22.5 percentage points.

The number of workers who received related training after the law’s enforcement also varied depending on workplace size, salary level, and employment type. After the law was enacted, 52.4% received training at their workplace, but only 36% of non-regular workers, 33.3% of those earning less than 1.5 million KRW, and 27.7% of workers at workplaces with fewer than 5 employees received related training.

Kwon Dooseop, a lawyer at Workplace Bullying 119, said, "It is repeatedly confirmed in surveys that the more vulnerable workers are at the workplace, the more they suffer from workplace bullying and the harder it is for them to report or respond." He added, "The Workplace Bullying Prohibition Act should also apply to workplaces with fewer than 5 employees, freelancers, and special employment workers, who are currently in a legal blind spot." He continued, "For small and micro businesses including those with fewer than 5 employees, a system to support workplace bullying investigations and relief procedures should be established so that victims can at least respond by reporting incidents."

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