Under the new framework, “workplace bullying” is now governed by a more explicit definition and specific categories than those applied under previous regulations.

I. Prior to the addition of Article 22-1 to the Occupational Safety and Health Act (hereinafter referred to as the “OSHA”), the definition of workplace bullying primarily referenced Appendix 6 of the Guidelines for the Prevention of Unlawful Infringements During the Performance of Duties (Fourth Edition) (hereinafter referred to as the “Prevention Guidelines”), which were formulated by the Ministry of Labor.

The Prevention Guidelines defined workplace bullying as: “Continuous acts of offense, threat, neglect, isolation, or insult committed against a worker by colleagues, supervisors, or subordinates within the workplace during the performance of duties, through the abuse of position, power, or unfair treatment, which cause the affected worker to feel frustrated, threatened, humiliated, isolated, and injured, thereby endangering the worker’s physical and mental health or safety.”

II. In the amendment to the OSHA, Article 22-1, Paragraph 1 statutorily defines workplace bullying as: “a situation in which a laborer, when performing his/her job duty in the place of duty, suffers harm to his/her mental and physical health due to continuous occurrence of any offensive, threatening, neglectful, isolated, insulting, or other inappropriate words or behaviors from the personnel of his/her business entity through abuse of their positions or powers, and beyond the necessary and reasonable business scope. Where the case is considered serious, the continuous occurrence does not constitute a prerequisite.” To determine what constitutes serious circumstances, according to the Ministry of Labor’s Guidance Manual on Workplace Bullying Prevention Measures (hereinafter referred to as the “Manual”), a comprehensive assessment should be made based on factors such as the intensity of the infringement, power imbalance, public nature of the act, degree of humiliation, as well as the physical and mental impact on the victim.

III. Regarding the specific types and determination of workplace bullying, Article 2 of the Regulations on Workplace Bullying Prevention Measures (hereinafter referred to as the “Regulations”) further provides:

” The determination of workplace bullying shall conform to the definition set forth in Article 22-1, Paragraph 1 of the Act, and shall comprehensively consider the background, frequency, location, perpetrator’s motivation, and purpose of the incident, as well as the following circumstances:

1. Deliberately ostracizing, ignoring, isolating, or excluding a specific person from participating in necessary and material meetings, affairs, or activities.
2. Disrupting or deliberately obstructing the work of a specific person, creating difficulties by exploiting one’s position, or intentionally concealing information or providing false information.
3. Oppressing a specific person through the use of authority, or deliberately assigning unreasonable work objectives or tasks that are manifestly incompatible with that person’s capabilities.
4. Deliberately spreading rumors about a specific person or disclosing their personal privacy.”

The aforementioned four types of behavior are substantially consistent with the workplace bullying scenarios stipulated in the Manual (namely, social exclusion, interference with duties, abuse of power, and infringement of reputation).

Conclusion

Regarding the definition of workplace bullying, although the Prevention Guidelines provide that the infringing behavior must possess “continuity,” Article 22-1 of the OSHA explicitly stipulates that where the case is considered serious, continuity is not a prerequisite. Responsible personnel within an enterprise unit must remain mindful of this distinction when receiving workplace bullying complaints from workers and when determining whether such complaints are substantiated.

Important Note: The provisions of the OSHA and the Regulations on Workplace Bullying Prevention Measures mentioned herein have been promulgated and will take effect on July 1, 2026.