What to do about bullying in Taiwan?

Recent incidents have shown that workplace bullying is all too common in Taiwan. Authorities and companies need to take a systematic approach and comprehensive action to address the problem. 

By Paul Shelton

Workplace bullying in Taiwan has gained a great detail of attention lately in the wake a tragic incident in November 2024 of an employee of the Ministry of Labor’s (MOL) Workforce Development Agency (WDA) committing suicide as a result of bullying. His suicide was reportedly linked to the bullying leadership style of his branch head, Hsieh Yi-jung (謝宜容), who was dismissed after receiving two major demerits in a performance review. The incident later led to the resignation of MOL Minister Ho Pei-shan (何佩珊), who has since been replaced by Hung Sun-han (洪申翰), a DPP lawmaker who was formerly a civil rights activist.

Workplace bullying is generally defined as repeated, intentional, and unreasonable actions or behaviours by individuals or groups that aim to intimidate, degrade, humiliate, or undermine a colleague or employee in a professional setting. These actions pose risks to the target’s psychological, emotional, or physical well-being and can create a toxic or hostile work environment.

This form of bullying is usually exemplified by repetition (not as a single or isolated incident). It is often deliberate and generally involves a misuse of power or position but can be perpetrated by peers or even subordinates. The bullying can take any number of forms such as verbal abuse and insults. The bullied party is often excluded from group activities or important meetings. Malicious rumours and false information are spread about the bullied party. In the workplace itself there are often situations involving excessive monitoring, micromanagement and the setting of unrealistic expectations. The bullying may even extend to public humiliation.

In Taiwan, workplace bullying has come under heightened scrutiny due to several high-profile cases and increasing public awareness. The issue is widespread and affects both the private and public sectors, but systemic challenges hinder its resolution, especially as it appears that Taiwan currently lacks adequate legislation to deal with this problem.

The investigation of the civil servant suicide in the MOL’s WDA, mentioned above, revealed abusive managerial practices, including verbal humiliation and unreasonable demands. Another case involved an official accused of forcing subordinates into unethical behaviour and failing to address employee grievances. This case highlighted leadership accountability issues.

These cases seem to indicate that managers, both at the mid-tier and upper-management level, feel untouchable. Perhaps they themselves experienced workplace bullying and justify their behaviour on the grounds that it is normal and, if they could survive and progress, then there is nothing wrong with it.

In another tragic case, an employee of a Taiwan industry institute decided to enrol in a master’s programme to further their professional development whilst continuing with their existing employment. The employee’s supervisor apparently did not agree with this and told the employee to choose between work and study and even forced the employee to sign a voluntary resignation form. The employee subsequently committed suicide on the grounds of the university campus. The Taipei Labor Inspection Office admitted that it had received a complaint from the employee, had inspected the industry institute and had issued a notice demanding improvement. However, that inspection and notice failed to prevent the tragedy.

Taiwan has legislation and guidelines to cover bullying in schools and regulations to counter sexual harassment. Bullying in schools seems these days to mostly involve internet bullying and less of the traditional kind of pushing and shoving on the school playground. Unfortunately, despite the regulations in place, the response of the schools oftentimes is to attempt to repress the complaint out of concern for the school’s reputation as opposed to punishing the bullies and protecting the bullied. An unacceptable let’s all “move on, nothing to see here” attitude.

However, when it comes to workplace bullying, Taiwan, quite simply, lacks a comprehensive legal framework to address the abhorrent behaviour and the tragic results noted above. The Labor Standards Act and the Occupational Safety and Health Act lack specific protections against workplace bullying. Victims of bullying are often left without a way to seek legal protection, and perpetrators are allowed to operate with impunity and may even be emboldened by the lack of punishment for their actions.