Power harassment

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Power harassment is a form of harassment and workplace bullying in which someone in a position of greater power uses that power unjustifiably against a lower-ranking person, typically just for display of dominance. It includes a range of behavior from mild irritation and annoyances to serious abuses which can even involve forced activity beyond the boundaries of the job description. Prohibited in some countries, power harassment is considered a form of illegal discrimination and political and psychological abuse. Types of power harassment include physical or psychological attacks, segregation, excessive or demeaning work assignments, and intrusion upon the victim's personal life.^[1]

Power harassment may combine with other forms of bullying and harassment, including sexual harassment, public humiliation, character assassination, robbery, property damage and even assault. In the context of sexual harassment, power harassment is distinguished from contra power harassment, in which the harasser is of lower rank than that of the victim, and peer harassment, in which the victim and harasser are of the same rank.^[2] The term "political power harassment" was coined by Ramona Rush in a 1993 paper on sexual harassment in academia.^[3] Because it operates to reinforce and justify an existing hierarchy, political power harassment can be difficult to assess.^[4]