Why Men in Their 40s and 50s Are “Cussing” Because They Feel a Sense of Achievement from Screwing Over Employees…

Forced to get down on one’s knees, demanding expensive compensation, long-time detention, verbal abuse, violence, and spreading on social networking sites….

Customer harassment has become a social problem. Recently, LDP Upper House Representative Takeshi Hasegawa was accused by singer Ikuzo Kichi of harassing flight attendants for his overbearing attitude on board an airplane, and the incident drew criticism online.

Why does harassment occur? Is there a solution? We interviewed Hiromi Ikeuchi, a professor of sociology at Kansai University who studies consumer complaint behavior and psychology.

Previously, customers made unreasonable demands and harassed employees excessively, which were called “malicious complaints. Professor Ikeuchi explains how customer harassment came to be called “customer harassment.

Professor Ikeuchi explains, “In the early to mid-’10s, the media first started using the term ‘customer harassment. In 2006, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, which had previously used the terms “nuisance” and “malicious complaints,” used the term “customer harassment” for the first time in its survey report. At the same time, NHK’s “Close-Up Gendai” program also took up the topic of kasuhara. It was around that time that the term “kasuharasu” began to gain popularity.

So, what kind of conduct does kasuhara refer to?

UA Zensen, an industrial labor union, has identified the types of behavior and attitudes that can be considered harassment based on a questionnaire survey. For example, forcing workers to get down on their knees, demanding expensive compensation, detaining workers for long periods of time, making repeated telephone inquiries, abusive language, and violence. Filming yourself making a complaint and spreading it widely on social networking sites is also a nuisance and constitutes kasuhara.”

These types of harassment have been pointed out for some time, but they have been on the rise for the past three to four years.

I think the COVID-19 crisis has had a big impact,” he said. Many people felt a tremendous sense of entrapment due to the restrictions on their behavior, a sense of loss and frustration at the loss of their daily lives, and were in a situation where they could explode in frustration and anger at any moment.

When I encounter situations that go against my intentions during these days, I feel the need to lash out at someone, even if it is an event that I would normally be able to get past. The fact that many people are having difficulty controlling their emotions may have contributed to the increase in the number of harassment cases.

Workers in their 40s, who are in their prime, vent their frustrations through stress, while those in their 50s vent their frustrations through catharic behavior due to impatience and loneliness.

Last year, S.P. Network, which provides support for corporate crisis management, conducted a survey of company employees who have experience in handling complaints regarding harassment. The results show that 80% of the respondents answered that they were most often harassed by men and that men in their 40s to 60s were the most frequent harassers.

The respondents in their 40s are in the prime of their working lives, and are in a stressful age group. When stressed, they cannot control their emotions well. It is common for them to lower their boiling point of anger and become angry over trivial matters.

Nowadays, many companies are removing employees in their 50s from management positions or forcing them to retire early. Therefore , there are quite a few people in their fifties who, out of impatience, loneliness, or a sense of isolation, vent their frustration through harassment.

On the other hand, Professor Ikeuchi points out that there are also many cases of harassment by the elderly.

The ‘2007 problem’ is behind this. The baby-boom generation began to retire in2007, and they are now in their mid-70s. They still want to be connected to society and contribute to it. They want to teach and guide others, so they push their own ideas on others, saying, “What’s wrong with you? Even if they have the best of intentions, their excessive words and actions become a nuisance to the employees.

The majority of them may be in their 40s to 60s, but it is certain that the silver class, mainly baby boomers, are also causing problems,” he says.

The most common type of complainer among middle-aged and older people with relatively high social status is what is known as a “logic-based complainer.