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Definition of power harassment in power harassment prevention guidelines

The law for the prevention of power harassment (hereinafter referred to as "power harassment") is not a law that specializes in power harassment. A new clause (hereinafter referred to as the "Power Harassment Prevention Act") has been added. At the beginning of 2020, when it came into force, there was a two-year transitional measure for small and medium-sized business owners, but from 2022, all business owners will be covered, and it will also apply to small and medium-sized medical institutions. How is everyone's response?

In the Power Harassment Prevention Act, what should actually be complied with is the "Guidelines for Employment Management Measures to Be Taken Regarding Problems Caused by Employers' Behavior Against the Background of Dominant Relationships in the Workplace" issued by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. (Hereinafter referred to as "power harassment prevention guidelines" (mhlw.go.jp)), so I will explain along the contents.

According to the power harassment prevention guidelines, power harassment is done in the workplace. a. Words and actions against the background of a superior relationship, b. Things that go beyond the necessary and reasonable scope of work, c. fulfillment (hereinafter referred to as “power harassment 3 requirements”). However, it was noted that ``from an objective point of view, appropriate work instructions and guidance given to the extent necessary and to the extent necessary for work do not fall under power harassment in the workplace.'' be careful.

Examples of power harassment and judgment criteria

The power harassment prevention guidelines list the following six items as specific examples of actions that meet the three power harassment requirements (see Table 1). There are examples of each applicable and non-applicable cases. It is necessary to make a judgment based on

Of these six types, mental attacks are the most difficult to judge, as the judgment is divided between the high court and the district court. For this reason, the power harassment prevention guidelines also show examples of cases that apply and cases that do not (See Table 2).
　

The guidelines for the prevention of power harassment state that the criteria for judging whether guidance exceeds the necessary and reasonable scope for business are: Examples are given (see Table 3), and "In this judgment, various factors (the purpose of the said behavior, the presence or absence, content, and degree of problematic behavior of the worker who received the said behavior, etc.) Background and circumstances of the behavior, type of business, content and nature of the work, mode, frequency, and continuity of the behavior, attributes and mental and physical conditions of the worker, relationship with the actor, etc.) In doing so, when the behavior of workers in individual cases becomes a problem, the relative relationship between the content/degree of the behavior and the mode of guidance for it is important. It is also necessary to pay attention to the fact that it is a factor.”
　

　

Ingenuity is required for the guidance system in the medical field

In the medical field, a higher degree of duty of care is imposed than in ordinary corporate operations, against various actions that threaten the safety of the patient's life, body, and mind. Therefore, it is undeniable that there is a current situation where we must give stronger guidance to those who repeat dangerous words and actions even if we pay attention to them. In the past, such guidance was given on a daily basis, and there is a history of following discipline in the medical field. However, even when conveying the same content, the direction is changing to require ingenuity in the way it is conveyed. We tend to do it unconsciously, but we must always be aware of the danger of being called power harassment if we continue to teach juniors what we have received from seniors in the past.

If you are recognized as a perpetrator, you may lose all the important things that you have built so far. If it becomes a person-to-person relationship, it is easy to fall into an emotional theory, and it may be difficult to evaluate objectively. The guidelines for the prevention of power harassment require employers to "clarify their policies, etc., and to disseminate and raise awareness of them." It is also important to build and operate a system that enables fair evaluation.