Conflicts between team members lower the performance of an organization. For small problems such as non-cooperation, work may be interrupted due to an investigation of the incident. More serious social problems may also occur such as a victim committing suicide. The worst case is when personal revenge drives people to commit violent acts, such as murder. Some offenders even commit suicide after the murder. In addition to moral and ethical issues, workplace conflicts pose a major threat to management, such as poor brand reputation or resignation of senior executives. This cannot be good for the employees’ morale.

How should we react if facing this kind of situation? It varies depending on the context and will also vary depending on whether you are the reporter (victim), the offender (victimizer), the surrounding people (witness/reference witness), or the organization’s leader. The types and severity of the incidents will also differ. While some incidents are easy to judge, such as assaults which leave physical evidence, other incidents are difficult to make judgments about, such as harassment or exclusion from work.

What should a leader do? He or she may say, “Please consult with the investigating department (audit office, etc.) since I’m not an expert.” Of course, this may be better than blaming the victim and taking the victimizer’s side. But this probably is not the best thing to do. Let’s take a look at each element to see how a better teamwork and organizational culture can be created. Check your leadership and consider how it is one of the ways to prevent talented employees from leaving and increase the performance of the organization.

<Changes in Acts, Regulations and Culture>

South Korea has been regulating harassment within the workplace through the Labor Standards Act since July 2019. In addition, industrial accidents caused by mental stress at work are gradually being recognized and the Occupational Safety and Health Act has been strengthened. Thus, the remnants of the old Japanese occupation or the culture of violence remaining after the military regime are losing their place. For Koreans, experiences between different generations vary greatly. We have to understand that Korea has become developed rapidly and each generation experienced very different levels of globalization. We should realize that what was overlooked in the past can become a serious problem today.

The law clearly states harassment as taking advantage of superiority in rank or relationship. In other words, even if you are not a superior in rank, harassment may also apply to cases where position of advantage can occur due to age, skill level and intimacy with other members since harassment in the workplace does not always occur in a superior-subordinate relationship. An objective fact finding investigation will usually be carried out by a department responsible for performing such investigations. If the investigation confirms that harassment has occurred, measures will be taken such as disciplinary action against the offender or change of workplace. What is important at this point is to take heed of the results before they are released. As the investigation process itself is stressful, the reporter claiming to have been harmed needs to be protected. It is not good leadership to sit on your hands, saying that you believe in the innocent until proven guilty rule. You need to take measures such as changing the workplace or giving paid leave after discussing it with the reporter. It is also stipulated in the law to carry out disciplinary actions against the offender, whose crime has been confirmed through the investigation, in the way preferred by the victim.

<Understanding Types of Harassment>

Physical Assault: Caution should be taken because while nearly everyone agrees that an assault requiring 4 weeks to fully recover is an obvious infraction, some people may wrongfully think that throwing things is okay.

Verbal Abuse: This includes curses, abusive language, insults, defamation, etc. There are cases when even though it can be pointed out privately, members irrelevant to that particular job are also intentionally made aware of the situation to provoke shame. The offender’s excuse may be to increase work efficiency or to prevent a mistake. But one should think hard whether the victim could have been protected or if there was a better way to handle the situation. There is a problem if current problems and things that require improvement are accompanied by insults or demeaning acts when evaluating achievements or abilities. It is possible to give strong feedback without losing your manners.

Ostracizing: There are some cases where people make up hurtful rumors about you and ignore or ostracize you. This is harder to confirm than the previously mentioned violence. Making false rumors or openly staring and avoiding you is easy to identify, but if some facts are included in the rumor or if people are sneakily ostracizing you with working hours as an excuse, the violation is not so clear. 

Work-related: This relates to making you work beyond an appropriate range or, conversely, excluding you from work. In some cases, it is not easy to confirm whether work allocation was appropriate when you are asked to do an amount of work that is not generally achievable, work overtime, or do personal work.

Violation of Freedom: Examples include coercion to have evening staff dinner, drink, show off talents, forced to not use vacations or welfare benefits and/or when there is excessive interference in personal affairs.

It is difficult to classify and many cases are complex, so it is important to understand that there are ambiguities. Human affairs are not as clear-cut as when cutting with a knife. It may be difficult to immediately restrain the offenders who say that they had no choice but to do so because of the circumstances and the work they had to do. We need to protect those who are having a hard time and think about creating a better organizational culture.

<Psychology for Each Position and What to Do>

* Reporter (Victim)

If the pain is too great or repeated, you should consider taking an active response. It is not right to worry about whether what you have achieved so far will all fall apart or if your abilities will be judged to be insufficient. You should at least discuss the problem with someone you trust. It would be great if the leader can be your mentor, but if not, you can discuss it with someone outside the organization. Committing suicide or getting personal revenge is not the correct path to take. It is not even good for the offender. Do something for yourself, whether that be raising an issue using the system or protecting your mind or body. It is also a good idea to keep a record of the damage. You can also record the time using an email or messenger. You can send it to yourself, too. These days, smartphones are also good at recording.

The offender is not a villain 100% of the time. Even a person who is good in other ways can do bad things in one way. You do not have to feel guilty about ruining someone because of you, since you are only asking for behavioral improvement. Don’t be discouraged that there is no one stepping up and helping you first. It is not easy to get involved in someone else’s business without fully understanding the situation. There are many people who are willing to help if you reach out your hand. There are always people who like to talk about other people’s affairs without having the full story. Do not avoid it because you are afraid of that.

Conversely, there are cases where the victim who endured through the situation suffered great psychological damage, but the offender did not commit any serious harmful act. This applies to cases where although the offender’s behavior was disrespectful, it was not a major violation of the law or regulations. It is not always possible to give severe punishment because the victim’s pain is great.

* Offender (Victimizer)

There are many cases where you do not help the reporter to recover from damages because if you admit even the slightest of your actions, it seems that you are acknowledging that you are a “bad person.” In this case, punishment may be more severe. Bear in mind that your thought “It’s alright in my standards” only applies to you. If you cannot see the color correctly, no matter how many times you say it is gray, it is red.

It is a lame excuse to say that there is nothing you can do because it cannot be improved even after getting feedback. You should be able to improve through work evaluation and feedback. Long ago, there was slavery. Present laws and regulations do not allow it. It will also be good for you to admit and correct your current mistakes before bigger problems arise. Although you can avoid it for a while, you will not be able to continue being that way in an advanced society.

Please do not deny everything in fear of getting punished for actions you did not do because all allegations of the reporter are recognized. Admit what you have done and defend what you have not.

* Surrounding People (Witness/Reference Witness)

Your mind may be complicated depending on the degree of intimacy or empathy between the two sides. Just accept that as it is. You may feel sorry for the offender who taught you well, or you may worry about him losing his job, because he is the head of the household. At the same time, you may feel sorry for the victim who is in the same position or gender as you. This is because the human heart is not simple. Even if you cannot talk about the incident because you are under investigation, you should keep being nice to each other. There are many ways to greet or say hello without talking about the incident.

* Organization Leader

You need to understand the type and severity of the incident and people in each position. It is complicated and difficult. That is why it is a leader’s role. Do not just leave it to the investigation department. Communicate and understand each other’s feelings and respect each other as human beings. This is to minimize the damage. It is best if an incident is prevented before it happens.

<Closing>

It is easy to think that harassment remains only in small organizations. That it is something that cannot happen in a large company with a well-established system and well-selected people. But just one year ago, there was a suicide case due to harassment in an IT company, a top 10 company by market capitalization. It was revealed that there was objection from the employees because the executive had a history, and complaints from a dozen team leaders were also ignored. The C-level executives related to that executive eventually left the company, and it is said that this was also the cause of the CEO not being able to fulfill his tenure. Now is the time to think again about leadership.

- Dooyoung Jung, Head of UNIST Healthcare Center, SK Hynix’s in-house contribution -