Research
Development of a New Workplace Power Harassment Perceivability and Experience Scale
Problems and Objectives
One of the reasons for the lack of progress in measures against workplace power harassment (hereinafter referred to as “power harassment”) in Japan is the lack of common recognizability of power harassment. In this study, with the aim of clarifying specific guidelines for judging what acts, attitudes, and conditions constitute power harassment, a new “workplace power harassment scale” was developed to measure the recognizability of power harassment (individual judgment of whether a certain act or situation constitutes power harassment) and the experience of power harassment (whether one has been subjected to power harassment oneself or whether it has occurred in the workplace). We developed a new “Workplace Power Harassment Scale” to measure the perception of power harassment (an individual's judgment of whether an act or situation constitutes power harassment) and the experience of power harassment (have you been subjected to it yourself or has it occurred in your workplace) and examined its reliability and validity.
Method
A total of 515 workers in four job areas (general companies, hospitals, city halls, and local governments) in the Kyushu region were included in the study. To examine validity, we simultaneously asked respondents to respond to the same items in the questionnaire regarding the presence or absence and frequency of their experiences, in addition to the recognizability of the experiences by each respondent. Item analysis was conducted to examine internal consistency reliability and validity. Concomitant validity was examined by examining the relationship with the Japanese version of the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (hereafter, NAQ-R), a measure of the frequency of workplace bullying experiences. Convergent and discriminant validity were examined by examining the association between the presence or absence of experiences of power harassment and depression (hereafter referred to as K6) and workplace social capital (hereafter referred to as WSC) (assessing trust and cooperation with the workplace, colleagues, and superiors). The results of this study were examined by examining the relationship between the K6.
Result
Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis of the power harassment perceivability scores yielded three factors of 18 items, consisting of 12 items for power harassment behavior (α = 0.977), 4 items for power harassment status (α = 0.923) and 2 items for power harassment attitude (α = 0.886). The internal consistency reliability of each factor was high. In addition, a significant correlation (r=0.546, p<.001) was obtained between the power harassment experience scores and the NAQ-R. The group with power harassment experience had a higher K6 (F (1,343) = 52.47, p < .001) and a lower WSC (F (1,343) = 64.78, p < .001) than the group without experience.
Consideration
We have developed a new highly reliable and valid “Workplace Power Harassment Scale” that can simultaneously assess the perception and experience of power harassment. We believe that the power harassment behaviors cover most of the typical behaviors related to bullying and harassment in domestic and foreign workplaces, while the power harassment status and power harassment attitudes include unique items that appropriately capture the concept of power harassment and workplace culture in Japan. The results of this study suggest that the experience of power harassment can be a risk factor for the onset of depression and that it is important to create a workplace where people can trust each other in order to prevent and control power harassment.
The Workplace Power Harassment Scale is here.
Background of Development
・Despite the many differences between the Western concept of workplace bullying (mobbing and bullying) and the Japanese concept of power harassment, there is no scale that measures power harassment according to the Japanese definition.
・Since the decision on what kind of behavior, attitude, or condition constitutes power harassment is left to each workplace, a common understanding of power harassment has not been achieved.
・Although there is a Japanese version of a Western scale that measures the experience of power harassment (NAQ-R Japanese version), there is no scale that measures the perception of power harassment, and there is a definite lack of empirical research.
Scale Features
・It can simultaneously measure the perceptibility of power harassment and the experience of power harassment.
・It consists of three subscales: power harassment behavior, power harassment status, and power harassment attitudes.
・It appropriately captures the concept of power harassment in Japan and the unique workplace culture in Japan.
・Sufficient reliability and validity have been confirmed.
Related Performance
Momoko NII・Akira TSUDA・Ka TOU・Tomomi YAMAHIRO・Masahiro IRIE，Development and Reliability and Validity of the Perceived and Experienced Workplace Power Harassment Scale, Stress Management Research, vol. 14, no. 2, 22-34, 2018. https://hdl.handle.net/2324/4844362
Masahiro IRIE・Momoko KOBAYASHI(NII)・Akira TSUDA，Power Harassment in the Workplace - Focusing on a Checklist, Psychiatry, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 302-312, 2020.
Momoko NII・Ka TOU・Akira TSUDA・Tomomi YAMAHIRO・Masahiro IRIE，Age and Occupational Differences in Perceived and Experienced Workplace Power Harassment, 81st Annual Meeting of the Japanese Psychological Association, September 2017.
Tomomi YAMAHIRO・Akira TSUDA・Ka TOU・Momoko NII・Masahiro IRIE，Gender Differences in Perceived and Experienced Workplace Power Harassment, 81st Annual Meeting of the Japanese Psychological Association, Kurume City Plaza, September 2017.
Ka TOU・Akira TSUDA・Momoko NII・Tomomi YAMAHIRO・Masahiro IRIE，Development of a New Workplace Power Harassment Scale, 81st Annual Meeting of the Japanese Psychological Association, Kurume City Plaza, September 2017.
Momoko NII・Akira TSUDA・Ka TOU・Tomomi YAMAHIRO・Masahiro IRIE，2018 Stress Management Research Incentive Research Award