Hello, I'm Taito Umesaki. I am working in the company in Tokyo as a team leader of the new project which has started recently. I was eager to make the project a success, because I wanted to get promoted. The project seemed to have a great start, and I first thought that my team members are all great, but there were one guy in the team member, that frustrates me a lot. As the project goes on, he repeatedly made critical mistakes which could lead the project to failure. At first few mistakes, I was very tolerant and helped him recover his mistakes. However, after multiple mistakes, I was very frustrated.
One day, he made a huge mistake again, and the whole team had to work to recover it, and that took a whole day. I was finally outraged. I criticized him in front of the team and repeatedly gave him harsh word for it. He looked depressed, but I was irritated so much.
From the next day, I started to ignore him. I didn't even looked at him. I was very frustrated that I didn't want to see him anymore, and I wanted him to quit. So, I started giving him easy, but huge amount of work and didn't let him go home until he finishes everything. He stayed until midnight almost everyday to finish the work, and if he couldn't, I shouted and yelled at him in front of everyone. One of my team members warned me to be careful for power harassment, but I thought it's not a big problem, because I experienced similar thing when I was young. I was just being strict to him, but that had slowly cornered him.
One day, I was called by HR and asked whether I have committed power harassment or not. I first said no, but after shown multiple evidence to prove power harassment, I finally had to admit it. Few days later, I was removed from the team leader position and sent to different department. My promotion has disappeared and the project was successful after I left the team.
After being demoted, I regretted what I have done. Power harassment has completely ruined my career which was going well.
Sighing at workplace seen as “mood harassment”; Japan psychiatrist offers tips. (2024, May 28). The Mainichi. https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240528/p2a/00m/0na/018000c
Advice from Japan’s Law Against Power Harassment | KOJIMA LAW OFFICES. (n.d.). KOJIMA LAW OFFICES. https://www.kojimalaw.jp/en/articles/0003
What surprised me most was how quickly frustration turned into harsh treatment. I did not expect the person to ignore their teammate and give them a huge amount of work until midnight. It was shocking to see how they justified their behavior by comparing it to their own past experiences, thinking it was just being strict. Also, I was really struck by how the consequences affected their career so deeply, from losing their leadership role to missing a promotion. This story shows how serious and damaging power harassment can be, even when someone thinks they are just being tough or strict.
返信削除Thank you very much for sharing this unique and honest perspective of a power harassment abuser. It’s very insightful to see how frustration, high pressure for success, and personal ambition can cloud one’s judgment and unfortunately lead to harmful and abusive behavior toward team members. Your blog importantly highlights how past personal experiences and the surrounding workplace culture might normalize harsh or strict treatment, making it much harder for perpetrators to even recognize their own actions as harassment. For further research, you might consider exploring psychological factors such as stress management techniques, emotional regulation, or personality traits that are common among leaders who commit power harassment. Understanding these underlying causes could be crucial in designing more effective prevention programs that support not only victims but also potential abusers—helping to address issues early before they escalate into serious problems.
返信削除When I first read this abuser’s point of view, I felt some pity toward him. This person was feeling stressed from the work and had a social pressure of “need to success”. I also thought this abuser was at first not trying to be rude or planning to do a power harassment, because in the last part he felt sorry and regretted what he had done. In addition, the way HR handled the problem was agreeable but might be too harsh for him. I feel like this abuser should have talked to someone or another boss to release his tress or obtain some advice on what should have he done.
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