e-Learning Blog

1. Why Power Harassment Education Is Necessary Now

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare defines power harassment in the workplace as,

1) Behavior based on a superior-subordinate relationship
2) Exceeding the necessary and reasonable scope for work
3) Actions that harm the worker's working environment

It is defined as an act that meets all three elements. Additionally, it is also indicated that appropriate work instructions and guidance conducted within a necessary and reasonable scope from an objective standpoint do not constitute power harassment.

On the other hand, in actual workplaces, there is often confusion such as "If I strictly warn someone, will that be considered power harassment?" or "I don’t know where the line is between guidance and harassment." It is difficult to recognize one’s own behavior as power harassment, distinguishing between guidance and power harassment is challenging, and factors such as communication shortages and the complexity of hierarchical relationships due to diversification of work styles and employment forms also make judgment difficult.

In other words, what is needed in power harassment education is not simply to "communicate prohibited actions."

Through definitions, judgment criteria, and concrete examples, it is important for employees to understand the boundary between appropriate guidance and inappropriate behavior.

2. Common Issues in Power Harassment Education

In power harassment education, the following points tend to become common challenges.

■The criteria for judgment are operated ambiguously

Power harassment is not determined mechanically by words or actions alone; it is judged comprehensively by considering the purpose of the behavior, circumstances, frequency, nature of the work, the situation of the other party, and the relationship with the actor. Without understanding the approach to judgment, perceptions and responses tend to vary at each workplace.

Also, if employees’ understanding remains vague, neither the person involved nor those around them may notice that "power harassment is being committed" or "power harassment is being experienced," which can lead to power harassment continuing over a long period.

■ In trying too hard to avoid power harassment, necessary guidance becomes weak

While awareness of power harassment is increasing, there are also many cases where necessary guidance is withheld, making it difficult to provide instruction on site. If understanding remains vague, fear of power harassment can prevent necessary guidance, which may ultimately have a negative impact on the organization.

■Viewing victims and perpetrators as issues concerning only a few individuals

Power harassment is not limited to behavior from superiors to subordinates. In the workplace, there are situations where one party holds an advantage not only due to positional authority but also because of differences in knowledge, experience, or influence within interpersonal relationships. Therefore, it is important to understand that anyone, regardless of their position, can be either a victim or a perpetrator.

3. Key Points to Keep in Mind for Education

In power harassment education, it is effective to at least cover the following three points.

① Understand the Definition and Judgment Criteria

First, it is important to understand the three elements that constitute power harassment and the basic principle that "appropriate guidance does not constitute power harassment." Also, since individual cases are judged comprehensively, it is necessary to have a perspective that does not judge based solely on superficial words.

② Know the Representative Types and Examples

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare identifies six representative types of power harassment: physical attacks, psychological attacks, isolation from human relationships, excessive demands, insufficient demands, and invasion of privacy. In power harassment education, learning these types together with concrete examples makes it easier to understand them as personal matters.

③ Share the process of consultation and response

Preventive measures require informing about consultation desks, appropriate consultation responses, fact-finding, consideration for victims, measures against perpetrators, and recurrence prevention. In education, it is important not only to focus on "preventing incidents" but also to share "how to consult and respond when incidents occur."

4. What You Can Learn from "STOP! Power Harassment"

Our company's training material, "STOP! Power Harassment ~Basic Knowledge of Power Harassment~," provides the essential foundational knowledge needed to prevent power harassment in a systematic way within a short time. The learning time is about 30 minutes, and the comprehension test requires a perfect score of 100 to pass. The learning objectives are to acquire basic knowledge of power harassment, to understand behaviors that could constitute power harassment and act consciously to avoid becoming either a victim or perpetrator, and to understand how to respond if subjected to power harassment.

The main contents of the training material are as follows.

• What is power harassment in the workplace?
• The difference between power harassment and guidance
• Common examples of power harassment
• How to avoid becoming a victim of power harassment
• How to avoid becoming a perpetrator of power harassment
• Creating a workplace free of power harassment
• Power Harassment Consultation Desk

Rather than simply listing "unacceptable behaviors," this is structured to allow learning the definitions, judgment criteria, examples, and consultation responses comprehensively, making it easy to introduce as basic training for all employees. It is especially suitable for companies that "do not understand the difference between guidance and power harassment" and want to "eliminate recognition gaps across different workplaces."

5. Recommended for These Types of Companies

This training material is recommended for the following types of companies and organizations.

• Want all employees to have a shared understanding of the basics of power harassment
• Want managers and leaders to also learn the proper approach to guidance
• Want to strengthen education along with raising awareness of consultation services and internal rules
• Looking for training materials that are easy to take in a short time and easy to implement

Measures against power harassment are not sufficient by just establishing systems and consultation desks. Each individual working in the workplace understanding what the problems are and how to act leads to effective prevention measures.

6. Summary

Power harassment not only affects the victims themselves but also has a significant impact on the entire workplace and corporate management. That is why preventing power harassment is not just "the job of a few responsible persons" but a theme that all employees should work on together. The training materials also organize power harassment as something that affects not only the victims but also the lives of many people and corporate activities.

"STOP! Power Harassment ~Basic Knowledge of Power Harassment~" is a training material that clearly explains the definition of power harassment, criteria for judgment, differences from guidance, case examples, ways of thinking to avoid becoming a victim or perpetrator, and consultation contacts, all in about 30 minutes. Please use it as the first step toward creating a workplace free of power harassment.

For companies that want to advance harassment countermeasures more systematically, it is also recommended to use related teaching materials together. By combining "STOP! Harassment – Basic Knowledge of Workplace Harassment", which broadly covers the basics of harassment in the entire workplace, "STOP! Maternity Harassment – For Creating a Comfortable Workplace", which teaches about systems related to pregnancy and childbirth and workplace accommodations, and "STOP! Customer Harassment – Basic Knowledge of Customer Harassment", which addresses the increasingly important issue of customer harassment in recent years, you can respond to various harassment issues both inside and outside the company in a more practical and comprehensive manner.

Additionally, this training material can be selected from two sales formats depending on the implementation method. If you want to use it immediately as an online training, it can be introduced through the training distribution service "e-Training Portal". It can be used from one training material for one month, and there is no limit on the number of users, making it easy to implement the necessary training. If you are already using your own LMS, you can also use "e-Training Material Sales". The PowerPoint format is easy to edit according to your company’s rules, and the SCORM and mp4 formats are characterized by easy distribution through your existing LMS as is. Furthermore, our company offers a wide variety of courses useful for employee education, not only in the harassment field but also in information security, compliance, personal information protection, business manners, business skills, and generative AI utilization courses. You can combine the necessary themes according to your issues and operational environment for effective use.

We also support customization and multilingualization for each company, so please feel free to contact us if you have any requests.

>>e-Learning Material: STOP! Power Harassment ～Basic Knowledge of Power Harassment～