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한국에서 점점 더 교활해지고, 잔혹해지는 직장폭력
정부는 학교 ·가정 ·직장 그리고 온라인을 비롯한 사회의 여러 사각지대에서 자행되는 폭력들을 근절하기 위해 고군분투 해왔다. 이에 코리아헤럴드는 현실을 반영하고, 폭력을 근절하기 위한 정부의 노력을 다룬 연재기사를 개제하고 있으며, 본 기사는 그 두번째 연재기사이다- 편집자 주
클레어 리 기자
윤은지(가명)은 올해초 선배가 경영진들중 한명으로 부터 괴롭힘을 당했다는 사실을 알지 못했다. 하지만, 이 회사의 이사진들이 그녀가 임신한 동료와 같이 근무하는 것이 썩 기분좋은 일은 아니라고 분명히 밝혔기 때문에, 그러한 사실을 눈치채는 일은 어려운일이 아니었다. 국내 주요대기업들중 한곳에서 근무하는 29세의 한 근로자는 " 그 임원은 모든이들 앞에서 그녀에게 모욕을 줬습니다." 그 임원은 임신한 여성들에게 고래고래 고함을 질렀는데, 이사진들중 한명은 " 동료이기 때문에 그이사가 그녀를 괴롭힐 이유가 없다." 라고 했다.
이 일이 있은 후, 윤씨는 왜 그 50대 여성임원이 그토록 화를 냈는지 알게 됐다. 그 여성임원이 임신한 여성직원에게 초과근로를 시켰다는 이유로 '인사부'로 부터 징계조치를 받았기 때문이었다. 현행 노동법에서, 고용주들이 임신한 직원에게 야간근로를 시키는 것은 불법이다.
기업들이 보안상의 이유로 직원들이 재택근무하는 것을 허락하지 않기 때문에, 임신했음에도 불구하고 직원들은 업무가 끝날때까지 사무실에 남아 있을 수 밖에 없다-이러한 이유로, 윤씨가 근무하는 회사는 그 여성임원을 노동당국에 절대 고발하지 않는다. '인적자원팀' 은 '출 ·퇴근 기준으로 직원들이 사무실에서 근무하는 시간을 자동으로 계산하는 타임트래킹 시스템을 통해 이사실을 적발했다.
윤씨는 " 그 선배는 (그 임원과의 관계가 악화될까 우려한) 스트레스 때문에 예정보다 일찍 출산휴가를 마치고 복귀했다." 라고 했다.
■ 경종을 울리는 통계
윤씨의 동료가 겪은 사례는 보다 흉포해지고 ·복잡하며 ·잔인해지고 있는 한국내 직장폭력의 현실을 반영하고 있다. 올해초, 한국여성정책연구원이 국회에 제출한 보고서에 따르면, 조사에 응한 4,589명의 근로자들 중 16.5퍼센트는 "근무하면서 적어도 한번은 직장에서 잔뜩 시달렸다." 라고 답했다. 한국여성정책연구원은 한국의 직장폭력비율이 약 10퍼센트대 인 세계평균희생자 비율보다 1.5배 높다고 주장했다. 한국에서 가장 높은 비율의 유형으로 나타나는 직장폭력의 사례는 지난해 기내에서 승무원이 '땅콩'을 제공하는 방식에 불만을 갖고 뉴욕에서 인천공항으로 출발하려던 항공기를 존 F 케네디 국제공항의 터미널 게이트로 돌릴 것을 지시한 조현아 前 대한항공 부사장의 '땅콩 난동' 사건도 포함된다.
국회에 보낸 공개서한에서 이명선 한국여성정책연구원장은 " 한국의 직장에서 폭력이 난무하는 현실의 이면에는 많은 요인들이 있다." 며 " 여성들과 계약직 노동자들은 폭력에 가장 취약한 계층 임을 강조하고, " 경쟁과 생산성을 강조하는 한국의 직장문화, 직업안정성이 제한적인 임시직이나 계약직 노동자들이 늘고 있는 현실 뿐만 아니라 한국의 장시간 근로와 수직적인 사내관계 등도 이러한 문제에 함께 기인(基因)하고 있다. "고 했다.
직장에서 괴롭힘을 당했다고 밝힌, 조사에 응한 근로자들 중 58.4퍼센트는 일부러 장시간 근로를 한다고 했으며, 48.5퍼센트는 사적인 영역의 침범이라고 느끼는 수준까지 고용주로 부터 감시당했다고 했다.
또한, 응답자의 44.1퍼센트는 경영진들이 너무 쉽게 직원들에게 모욕을 준다고 밝혔으며, 43.2퍼센트는 업무가 너무 과중하다고 답했다. 그리고 41퍼센트는 "기업경영진들이 그들을 모욕하거나 직장에서 굴욕감을 느끼게 했다." 라고 했다. 한편, 직장에서 잔뜩 시달린다고 답한 응답자들의 68.5퍼센트는 직장상사에게 두들겨맞은 적이 있다고 했으며, 32퍼센트는 고객들에게서 희롱을 당한 적이 있다고 했다. 또한 31퍼센트는 재직하고 있는 회사의 임원진들에게서 괴롭힘을 당한 적이 있다고 했다.
이외 다른 연구보고서들은 상황이 보다 심각해질 수도 있음을 보여주고 있어, 지난 6월, 전국사무금융서비스노동조합의 조사에서 48.8퍼센트가 직장에서 시달림을 겪은 적이 있다고 답했다. 온라인 구인 ·구직사이트인 '사람인'의 2012년 조사에서는 설문에 참여한 2,975명의 직장인들 중 45퍼센트가 괴롭힘을 당한 직장동료가 있었다고 했다. 그들 중 61.3퍼센트는 직장폭력문제가 상당히 심각하다고 답했으며, 58.3퍼센트는 동년배 직원이 괴롭힘을 당한 이후 회사를 그만두는 것을 보았다고 했다.
새누리당 이자스민 의원은 " 많은 사람들이 직장폭력이 제도적인 문제라는 것을 인식하지 못하고 있다." 라며 " 땅콩난동사건 은 사내폭력문제가 세상의 주목을 받는 계기가 되었지만, 사람들은 여전히 직장폭력문제를 잠재적 폭력행위 혹은 제도적인 문제로 보기 보다는 직장에서 사람들과 부대끼는 개인적 갈등으로 여기고 있다. " 라고 했다.
■ 성(性)과 직업안정성
여려 연구들은 한국에서 여성 ·청년 그리고 계약직 근로자들이 정규직·남성 근로자들 보다 직장폭력에 보다 취약하다는 것을 보여주고 있는데, 서비스부문에 종사하는 1,000여명의 여성근로자들을 대상으로 한 한국여성정책연구원(KWDI)이 지난주 공개한 보고서는 계약직으로 일하는 이들의 45.9퍼센트가 직장폭력을 겪은 적이 있다고 한다. 한편, 정규직으로 근무하는 근로자들의 29.2퍼센트도 이들과 마찬가지로 직장폭력에 시달리고 있어, 이 보고서는 젊은근로자들도 직장폭력에 보다 취약하다는 점을 보여주고 있다. 조사에 응한 이들 중, 20대 직장인들의 46.3퍼센트는 직장에서 시달린 적이 있다고 했으며, 40대 직장인들의 30.3퍼센트와 30대 직장인들의 36.5퍼센트가 똑같은 일을 겪었다고 했다.
한국직업능력개발원 서유정 연구원의 2014년 연구는 " 연구에 참여한 희생자들의 85.7퍼센트가 남성이 가해자 라고 했으며, 9.6퍼센트만이 여성을 가해자로 지목했다. "는 사실을 보여주고 있다.
한편, 1,633명의 여성근로자들을 조사한 한국의 법무법인 '공익변호사그룹'의 2011년 조사에 따르면 60.6퍼센트의 응답자들이 직장생활 중 적어도 한번은 직장에서 성희롱을 당한 적이 있다고 답했다.
지난해, 서울시에서 운영하는 서울대공원에서 4명의 정규직 근로자들은 당시 정규직을 제안받기를 희망하던 여성 계약직 근로자들에게 성적(性的) ·언어(言語的)폭력을 가한 혐의가 밝혀진 이후 징계를 받았는데, 여성 1명, 남성 3명의 가해자들은 자신들보다 나이가 어린 피해자들에게 술자리 참석을 강요하고 원치않는 신체적 접촉과 성적 뉘앙스가 농후한 농담을 건넸다.
서울시 인권위원회에 보낸 진정서에서 피해자들은 ' 필사적으로 정규직을 얻기 위해 애써왔기 때문에 저항하지 못했던 부분도 있다.' 라고 했다. 한국여성정책연구원이 공개한 보고서는 또한 여성근로자들이 2012년에 시작해 거의 1년간이나 남성 직장상사로 부터 성희롱을 당한 르노삼성자동차에서의 성희롱 사례를 언급했는데, 이 보고서에서는 피해자들과 피해자를 도운 이들이 진정서가 접수된 데 이어, 회사측으로 부터 징계조치를 받은 상사에게서 또다른 폭행을 당할 위기에 직면 해 있다고 주장했다. 보고서에 따르면, 르노삼성자동차의 '인사부'는 우선, 피해자가 유부남인 가해자를 꼬드겼으며, 사실 성희롱은 전혀 일어나지 않았지만, 사실을 왜곡했다." 라고 주장하며, 피해자들에 대한 잘못된 소문을 유포했다. 이 사건이 있기 전, 뛰어난 인사고과를 받았던 피해자는, 상사를 고발한 이후 저조한 직무평가를 받았다. 한 피해자(女)는 이 사건이 있기 전 본래 맡아 온 프로젝트를 돌연 추진하지 않는다며, 대신 사무비품 구입 같은 잡일을 맡게 되었다고 했다. 피해자가 가해자인 직장상사를 고발했을 때, 그녀를 공개지지 했던 동료들 중 한명은 전하는 바에 따르면, 특별한 이유도 없이 좌천되었으며, 매우 저조한 인사고과를 받았다.
이러한 여성들에 대한 직장폭력은 종종 임신 ·출산휴가와 관련이 있다. 지난해, 전국보건의료산업노동조합은 임신한 적이 있는 1,902명의 여성근로자들 중 17.4퍼센트가 특정한 시기에 임신을 하지 말라는 고용주로 부터의 압박을 받아, 자신의 뜻대로 출산휴가를 갈 수 없었다고 했다. 또한 21.9퍼센트는 현행법이 금지하고 있음에도 불구하고, 여성근로자들은 임신중에 '야근'을 감수해야 한다고 답했으며, 18.7퍼센트는 직무관련 스트레스 때문에 유산이나 사산을 겪은 적이 있다고 답했다.
2012년, 이전에 은행에서 근무했었던 한 직원은 은행 및 1년여의 출산휴가에서 복귀한 그녀를 괴롭혔던 동료들을 대상으로한 소송에서 승소했다.
Workplace bullying gets smarter, crueler in South Korea
The South Korean government has been striving to curb violence in various corners of society, including at schools, homes, workplaces and online. The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles delving into the reality and the country’s efforts to restrain the violence. This is the second installment. --Ed.
It wasn’t too hard for Yoon Eun-ji -- not her real name -- to find out that her senior colleague had been bullied by one of the executives of her company earlier this year. It wasn’t difficult because the board member made it very clear that she was not happy with her pregnant colleague.
“The executive humiliated her in front of everyone,” said the 29-year-old, who works for a local conglomerate. “She yelled at the pregnant woman. One of the things the executive said was that there was no reason for her to ‘suffer’ because of the colleague.”
Yoon later found out that the reason why the female executive, in her 50s, was upset was because she received a disciplinary measure1 from the human resources department2 for overworking the pregnant employee. Under Korea’s labor laws, it is illegal for employers to make pregnant workers do night shifts3.
Workplace bullying against women is often linked to pregnancies and maternity leaves in South Korea. (123RF)
한국에서 여성들을 대상으로 한 직장폭력은 종종 임산부나 육아휴직자들과 연루된 경우가 많다 (123RF)
The pregnant worker, who had no choice but to stay late in the office to finish her assigned tasks -- the company does not allow employees to take their work home for security reasons -- never reported her boss to the authorities.
The human resources team found out through the company’s time-tracking system, which automatically calculates each worker’s time spent at work as they clock in and out.
“My senior colleague ended up taking her maternity leave earlier than scheduled, mostly because of the stress (due to her relationship with the executive),” Yoon said.
Alarming statistics
The case of Yoon’s colleague reflects South Korea’s workplace harassment that is getting more rampant, complex and cruel. According to a report submitted to the National Assembly by the Korea Women’s Development Institute earlier this year, 16.5 percent of 4,589 surveyed Korean workers said they have been harassed at the workplace at least once in their lives. The state-run think tank claimed that the rate is about 1.5 times higher than the world’s average proportion of victims, which is about 10 percent.
Some of the most high-profile workplace harassment cases in Korea include the “nut rage” incident, in which the former Korean Air vice president Cho Hyun-ah ordered a departing jet from New York to Seoul to return to the terminal gate at John F. Kennedy International Airport, after being dissatisfied with the way a flight attendant served her nuts on the plane last year.
“There are many factors behind Korea’s workplace bullying situation,” said Lee Myung-sun, head of the KWDI, in her open letter to the Assembly, stressing that women and contract workers are some of the most vulnerable to the violence.
“The (Korean) work culture that emphasizes competition and productivity, the increasing number of temporary and contract workers with limited job security, as well as the nation’s long work hours and hierarchal work relationships together contribute to this problem.”
Among the surveyed Koreans who said they had been harassed at work, 58.4 percent said they were purposely given too much work, while 48.5 percent said they were constantly monitored by their employer to a degree where they felt an invasion of their privacy.
Also, 44.1 percent said they have been purposely given work that was too easy as an insult, while 43.2 percent said they had been assigned to do a task that was either beyond their capabilities or control. Forty-one percent also said they had been either verbally insulted or humiliated at work. Meanwhile, 68.5 percent of the harassed participants said they were attacked by their bosses, while 32 percent said they had been harassed by their clients. Also, 31 percent said they were bullied by the executives of their companies.
Other research reports have shown that the situation may be more serious.
In a survey by the Korean Finance and Service Workers’ Union4 of its 3,065 members in June, 48.8 percent said they had been bullied at work.
A 2012 survey by Saramin, an online recruitment website, showed 45 percent of the 2,975 working Koreans who participated had a coworker who was bullied. Among them, 61.3 percent said the bullying problem was very serious, and 58.3 percent said they saw a colleague quit after being bullied.
Rep. Lee Jasmine of the ruling Saenuri Party said not many Koreans are aware that workplace harassment is a systemic problem.
“The ‘nut rage’ incident has brought the issue of workplace harassment into the limelight,” she said. “But many Koreans still consider it as personal conflicts with people at work, rather than as potential illegal activities or a systemic problem.”
Gender and job security
A number of studies have shown that women, young employees and contract workers are more vulnerable to workplace harassment than those with full-time positions and male employees in Korea.
A report by KWDI released last week, which surveyed 1,000 female workers in the nation’s service sector, showed that 45.9 percent of those working under a contract have experienced workplace harassment. Meanwhile, 29.2 percent of the workers who work full-time have endured the same. The report also showed that the younger workers were more vulnerable to workplace abuse. Among the surveyed, 46.3 percent of those in their 20s said they had been harassed at work, compared to 30.3 percent of those in their 40s and 36.5 percent of those in their 30s.
In a 2014 study by Seo Yoo-jeong from the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training5, 85.7 percent of the victims who participated in her research said their perpetrators were men, while only 9.6 percent of them said they were attacked by women at work.
According to a 2011 research by local law firm Korean Public Interest Lawyers’ Group, which surveyed 1,633 women employees, 60.6 percent said they had been sexually harassed at work at least once in their lives.
Last year, four full-time workers at Seoul Grand Park, a park complex run by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, received disciplinary action after it was revealed that they had been sexually and verbally harassing a female contract worker who was hoping to get a full-time offer at the time.
The victim was junior to the four perpetrators -- three male and one female. Among the abuse she experienced included being forced to attend drinking gatherings and enduring unwanted touching and sexually explicit jokes. The victim, when reporting to the city government’s human rights office, said she did not resist in part as she was desperate to get a full-time position.
The KWDI report also mentioned a sexual harassment case at Renault Samsung Motors, where a female employee was sexually harassed by her male superior for over a year starting in 2012. The report claimed that the victim and those who supported her faced additional harassment at work after her boss received a disciplinary measure from the company following her report to the authorities.
According to the report, the human resources department spread false rumors about the victim, claiming she purposely seduced the perpetrator, a married man, first, and that sexual harassment in fact never happened, but she fabricated the facts to falsely report him.
The victim, whose work performance had been stellar prior to the case, received poor grades in her work evaluation after she reported her boss. She was also abruptly told not to pursue the projects that had been originally given to her prior to the case, and instead assigned to do errands such as purchasing office items. One of her coworkers, who openly supported her when the victim reported the perpetrator, was also demoted allegedly for no specific reason and received very poor work evaluation.
Workplace bullying against women is also often linked to pregnancies and maternity leaves. Last year, the Korean Health and Medical Workers’ Union6 revealed that among its 1,902 female members -- all nurses -- who are or have been pregnant, 17.4 percent have been encouraged by the employers to avoid pregnancy or get pregnant at a certain time so their maternity leaves do not coincide with their co-workers'. Also, 21.9 percent said they had to endure night shifts while pregnant, although the law prohibits it, and 18.7 percent experienced either miscarriages or stillbirths because of work-related stress and long work hours.
According to a 2011 research by a local law firm, which surveyed 1,633 women employees, 60.6 percent said they had been sexually harassed at work at least once in their lives. (123RF)
In 2012, a former bank employee won a suit filed against her employer and coworkers, who bullied her after returning from a year of maternity leave.
The banker, who had been in charge of accounts and mostly worked as a teller before taking the break, was asked to be an usher instead when she returned. Her desk was gone, and as an usher she had to stand the whole time. When she confronted her boss, he told her: “I no longer consider you as my employee. If you feel this is unfair, you should take the case to Cheong Wa Dae.”
The KWDI report showed that her boss told all of the employees to “cooperate” in isolating her in the office, so she would eventually give up and quit. The victim suffered depression because of the experience.
Labor issue
In October, representatives from labor, management and government reached an agreement that permitted employers to fire underperforming workers in exchange for hiring more full-time workers.
Meanwhile, a number of bills to tackle workplace bullying have been proposed since 2013, but are currently pending at the Assembly.
Lawyer Lee Jong-hee from the Korean Public Interest Lawyers’ Group, who also filed a report on the situation of workplace bullying to the Assembly, said limited job security resulting from being more vulnerable to getting fired may create more abuse cases at workplaces. “When you are on the verge of losing your job, you can’t report your boss for abuse,” the lawyer said in the report.
“Research has shown that women workers are more unstable in the labor market and the change may make them even more vulnerable to workplace bullying than before.”
Among the 360,000 who joined the temporary workforce in Korea over the past decade, 89 percent were women, according to the KWDI. Also, female temporary workers earned only 36 percent of full-time male workers’ average salary last year.
“(Korean) women are constantly exposed to sexist behavior when they are in the workforce,” Koo Mi-young from the KWDI. “For example, married women are still often expected to do housework even they are working, while their husbands are simply expected to ‘help out’ when they can, rather than fully share the responsibilities. Such experiences can make women unaware of the problems, and make them incapable to recognize even when they are harassed by someone else.”
Lawyer Lee said the laws should try to protect every worker’s dignity. “We need to talk about the system that makes it almost impossible for many workers to live with dignity,” the lawyer said in the report. “We need to talk about the system in order to tackle this issue (of workplace harassment).”
Last month, Rep. Lee In-young from the New Politics Alliance for Democracy proposed a bill that newly defines workplace harassment and therefore make them punishable by the laws.
It includes spreading malicious rumors and gossip that is not true; removing areas of responsibilities without reason for more than six months; insulting or criticizing a person persistently or constantly; assigning unreasonable or useless duties which are unfavorable to the person; and excluding or isolating someone socially at workplace. The bill also stipulated that in all lawsuits that involve workplace bullying, the accused must prove their innocence while the plaintiff does not have to prove the damages they suffered.
However, along with a number of other bills tackling the issue, Rep. Lee’s proposal is currently pending at the National Assembly.
According to a report by the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training released in June, a single workplace bullying case can cost a company up to 15.5 million won ($13,300), as it negatively affects the workers’ productivity and mental health.
A number of countries, including Finland, Belgium and Canada, have legislations about workplace violence and harassment. In France, the Supreme Court held that it is an employer’s obligation to prevent workplace bullying and therefore renders them liable for bullying committed by their employees.
By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)
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