“They do not openly swear, yet it feels harsher”···Ignoring, sighing, and clicking the tongue: office workers shaken by ‘silent harassment’ [Lee Yoon-jung’s Soso World] - 경향신문

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“Hello.” I offer a greeting, but there is no reply. When I submit a report, the first response is a sigh. When I ask a question, they stare at the monitor for a long time. If I struggle to speak up again, a short answer comes back: “So what?” They are not shouting or swearing. Yet, strangely, I feel tense every time I try to talk to them.

Recently in Japan, the term ‘fukihara’ has been spreading to describe unpleasant attitudes or behaviors in the workplace. It is a shortened form of ‘fukigen harassmentハラスメント·harassment using an unpleasant attitude)’, referring to displeased facial expressions, sighs, clicking the tongue, ignoring, and other behaviors that make others uncomfortable and overly self-conscious.

Japanese media report a move to view behavior that had long been regarded as a matter of personality or mood as an issue of the workplace environment. The Asahi Shimbun reported that this year a senior officer at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department with more than 100 subordinates was disciplined after being found to have committed ‘fukihara’ by repeatedly reacting unpleasantly to objections from subordinates and cutting off their reports midway.

The Asahi Shimbun noted that even when it is difficult to determine whether fukihara falls under power harassment (パワーハラスメント·power-based harassment in the workplace), it can still cause people around to become persistently intimidated and can worsen the office atmosphere, and therefore should be prevented. Tsuno Kanami, a professor at the Graduate School of Kanagawa Prefectural University of Health and Welfare, told the Asahi Shimbun, “Even if unpleasant attitudes at work do not rise to the level of power harassment, they can still affect those nearby,” and pointed out, “To create a workplace where everyone can feel safe, prevention is necessary.”

A survey has also shown how widespread fukihara is in Japanese workplaces. The lifestyle outlet Nikkan Spa reported on the 2nd that, in a survey of 500 office workers conducted by the private company Emprona, 74.6% answered, “There is someone at my workplace who engages in fukihara.” Respondents cited effects such as ‘the office atmosphere deteriorates’, ‘communication decreases’, and ‘work efficiency drops’. This suggests that quite a few people view unpleasant attitudes not merely as an individual mood issue but as a problem of workplace communication and the work environment.

In fact, quiet forms of harassment such as sighing, ignoring, and exclusion are not unique to Japan. Many countries have studied these phenomena for much longer.

In the United Kingdom, ‘ignoring’ is considered a representative behavior that explains workplace conflict. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), a professional HR and labor body in the UK, described ‘workplace incivility’ this year as spanning a broad spectrum. Not only serious bullying or violence is problematic; relatively subtle behaviors such as ignoring others, not replying to emails, interrupting in meetings, or failing to respect others’ opinions can also be sources of conflict. It added that when such behaviors are repeated, they can develop into workplace disputes.

In the United States, ‘workplace incivility’ is somewhat broader in scope than Japan’s fukihara. It includes belittling remarks, showing little interest in others’ opinions, interrupting, and failing to acknowledge others’ contributions.

According to a 2024 survey by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) of more than 1,000 U.S. workers, 66% said they had personally experienced or witnessed workplace incivility during the previous month. The most common behaviors experienced or witnessed at work were treating others rudely (36%), interrupting or cutting others off when they are speaking (34%), and micromanaging such as excessive monitoring (32%).

In another survey of 1,611 U.S. workers in the same year, 66% responded that workplace incivility reduces productivity, and 59% said it lowers employee morale. In addition, 37% said managers or supervisors do not properly address workplace incivility.

Australia and Singapore have compared the impact of such behaviors across the two countries. A research team at the University of Canberra surveyed 301 Australian white-collar workers and 303 Singaporean white-collar workers in 2019 to examine the outcomes of workplace incivility. The study found that workplace incivility increases burnout and exhaustion, which in turn are linked to job dissatisfaction and withdrawal behaviors. The researchers also noted that even when people experience the same incivility, the degree to which it affects them may differ depending on a country’s cultural background.

In South Korea, ‘workplace exclusion’ is already being studied academically. A study published in 2023 in the international journal Behavioral Sciences by a research team in the School of Business Administration at Honam University analyzed 403 domestic office workers to examine the relationships among workplace exclusion, job stress, and burnout. The researchers surveyed the same participants twice, one month apart. The first survey measured perceptions of workplace exclusion and jealousy, and the second measured job stress and burnout. The results showed that employees who perceived themselves as experiencing workplace exclusion had higher levels of job stress and burnout, and that the degree to which they felt they were being envied by colleagues partially mediated this relationship.

In South Korea, such behaviors do not end merely as a ‘bad day at the office’. The Labor Standards Act defines ‘workplace bullying’ as acts that, by taking advantage of a superior position in workplace status or relationships, exceed the appropriate scope of work and cause physical or psychological pain to another worker or worsen the working environment. What matters here is not whether there is swearing or verbal abuse. One must consider comprehensively the repetition of the conduct, the work relationship, the degree and context of the acts, and the resulting psychological harm and deterioration of the working environment.

In fact, reports of workplace bullying in South Korea frequently involve ostracism and exclusion. Last year, the number of reported workplace bullying cases in South Korea exceeded 16,000, and related cases included ostracism and exclusion from duties.

So how can quiet harassment in the workplace be addressed? The UK CIPD recommends, “To reduce workplace incivility, focus on prevention rather than punishing after problems become serious, have managers intervene swiftly at the earliest signs of conflict, and create an environment where employees can talk about problems safely.” In practice, when Canadian and U.S. researchers implemented a program in healthcare institutions to increase mutual respect and courtesy among colleagues, it reduced workplace incivility and burnout and increased job satisfaction and trust in managers. Ultimately, what is needed is a mechanism in the organization that allows people to disclose harm before sighs and ignoring become patterns, and that enables managers to step in. An atmosphere that freezes people without a word is also a ‘work environment’ that must be managed.