I’m currently being power harassed at work. I reported the situation to HR (harassment helpline) but unfortunately things has gotten worse since.
The harassment guidelines specifically said that my identity will be protected but they ended up setting up a meeting with me and the perpetrators.
[EDIT]
– HR mentioned to me that the company’s lawyer decided that my claim doesn’t fall under “Power Harassment” -> I think it’s because I didn’t have recording of the event and they know that it’ll not stand in court therefore it’s not a threat for the company.
– After that, HR suggested to fix the situation so they set up a meeting with me and the perpetrators for the purpose of fixing the situation, but the perpetrators have since threatened me and I feel unsafe and uncomfortable to work that I’ve been taking sick leave since last week.
[Question]
I’m not sure what to do next..
At the moment I’m considering to take medical leave (休職)
If you have similar experience could you share with me? or if you know any immigration lawyer that I could consult with.
[More context]
– I work for a large multinational tech firm
– I work mostly WFH everyday so at least I don’t have to see the perpetrators in person but I still have online meetings with them
– Since reporting it to HR, I took recordings of meetings that I had with the perpetrators
16 comments
I had a similar situation at my previous company (which I worked at for about 5 years)My boss was a huge, (well very tiny actually, about 155 cm) dick and bully. I complained to the HR twice and I complained to his boss a few times and it just got worse.I ended up just leaving. Soon after I left my entire team also quit (6 members total)
Quitting ended up being the best decision I’ve ever made tbh
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>I’m not sure what to do next
Why are you not sure? Leave.
I once consulted the Union rep at my company because of power harassment but was told it had to happen on 3 occasions before they could do anything. Mysteriously after that it stopped.
Apart from recording any interactions with your harrasser, make sure you have a written account of as many incidents as possible with dates and times.
Try to keep interactions with HR in writing as they’re obviously fuckwits who don’t know how to deal with this kind of thing.
If you haven’t looked up the relevant labor laws, do so. Someone else here will hopefully explain the relevant ones.
Good luck! There’s far too much of this shit going on at Japanese companies.
Under the Law to Prevent Harassment in the Workplace, failure to abide by the law revisions will that now detail power harassment only ever carry light consequences.
Penalties may start with guidance, advice and recommendations by the authorities, reporting requirements on an employer’s efforts to fulfill the requirements, small but potentially symbolic fines, and public announcement/shaming of the employer.
The only one anyone really cares about is public shaming and, I believe, it would be a long arduous journey to get to that point, but you can report this to your prefecture labor bureau or bring this up with a lawyer to see what they say. If your in Tokyo, see here for consultation/reporting: https://www.hataraku.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/shiryo/foreign-e/index.html
This is Japan. People live and breath by power harassment. Record everything, like literally use an audio or video recorder. Then threaten legal action on them. Even then, they’ll probably try to punish you for it though.
Do you have an outside number that you can call, like the corporate attorneys that are on retainer?
I will tell what a close friend did in a similar situation as yours, also in a large multinational tech firm headquartered in Kyoto:
She first took some medical leave due to stress, which made the boss harass her even more. Then she consulted with the company legal firm (most, or every large company offer legal consultation about company issues). These lawyers saw the problem and, apparently, warned the company about the potential for more serious issues. Maybe that would be enough, but it was taking too long and she was very stressed, so she consulted with a private lawyer who drafted a simple letter within a week about the problems. That made the company act instantly: they removed her right then from the harassing division and offered paid leave until they found a new division for her, which ended up taking only 1 week, but she got another 6 months of medical leave and the company didn’t question it. They also said the previous boss would undergo disciplinary measures, but she doesn’t know if anything happened and she was not friends with anyone in the previous office (first job, bad environment overall). In the end she was moved to a really good division within the same large building where she didn’t have to interact with the previous boss at all. She is happy and has not suffered any prejudice for what happened.
I would not recommend anyone in a small company to escalate things unless they were decided to leave and just wanted revenge and to take some extra money when leaving. But in a large company it sometimes works, as it did for my friend. Still, I think a positive outcome is the exception rather than the rule, so always keep in mind you may need a way out if things go bad.
I had a similar situation recently and just reported it. It was actually second time it happened. Basically it seems very hard to do anything about it. Management were on harassers side excusing their behavior as just being “a little too direct” thereby making me look like I was the one with the problem. In addition the people at the meeting who were very senior management said that they had not had this impression from said person’s interactions. Well, duh! The person doesn’t power harassment the top of the company now do they? Anyway I felt this was as much as what I could do, but looks like this kind of behavior is way too ingrained and accepted around here and there is a real unwillingness to do anything about it even policies may exist – on paper. Now I am looking for a new job and I recommend OP you do the same. Good luck.
My boss tried to harassed me, then I fought back. Just f it want to fight outside, let’s go bro, he eventually relented
Report the manager again for the threat then inform HR you will be contacting the Labor Board.
https://www.check-roudou.mhlw.go.jp/sp/soudan/foreigner_eng.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwm8WZBhBUEiwA178UnGo-D4FOPCr2Ps12m7PCbCU-BiGkCtGrpEoS5nQw4nB1Sp7EOZ8cHRoCRY8QAvD_BwE
https://www.no-harassment.mhlw.go.jp/foreign_workers_en/1power
Read up on your rights as a worker.
I have no experience here for this but my only advice is to keep receipts.
Your failed attempts to report it and what they did and said. Future and current offenses by the boss.
Make a strong case with evidence and if you feel like being a thorn…sue
Record, and quit. But remember about the defamation laws.
“The harassment guidelines specifically said that my identity will be protected but they ended up setting up a meeting with me and the perpetrators.”
For fuck sake, that’s soooo japanese….
Can you escalate to global HR? Many times local HR in international firms will try to keep things suppressed to make their records look better, sweeping things under the rug. This will be magnified now that global firms are trying to present themselves as advocates of ideal workplaces.
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EDIT: sorry by international I thought it was a foreign firm. My points are probably irrelevant.
“the perpetrators have since threatened me and I feel unsafe and uncomfortable to work”
Evidence of that?
You can go to HR as many times as you like, it’s not over. But without evidence, you’re probably making trouble for yourself.