ILO Convention No. 190 Guidance Provides Nintendo HR Blueprint for Anti-Harassment Policies

International Labour Organization guidance on Convention No. 190 and Recommendation No. 206 gives Nintendo human resources teams a detailed framework for preventing workplace violence and harassment and for responding when incidents occur. The materials set out employer obligations, recommended policy elements, risk assessment and prevention measures, and steps for consulting with workers and representatives, delivering a clear international standard HR can weave into global operations.

The guidance emphasizes that employers must take proactive measures to prevent harassment, not merely react after complaints. For Nintendo, which operates studios, support centers, and business units across multiple countries, that means harmonizing baseline protections while respecting local law. Policy elements described include clear definitions of violence and harassment, accessible reporting channels, protections against retaliation, confidentiality safeguards, support for complainants and respondents, and timely remedial and disciplinary processes. Risk assessment advice focuses on identifying workplace contexts where harassment is more likely and tailoring prevention to specific job functions and settings.

Practical prevention measures in the ILO materials include workplace risk mapping, regular training for managers and employees, review of workplace design and schedules that can expose staff to risk, and mechanisms to monitor policy effectiveness. Guidance on consultation encourages meaningful engagement with workers and their representatives when drafting or revising policies, ensuring that concerns from unions, staff councils, or employee resource groups shape implementation and that communications reach frontline roles such as development teams, QA, localization, and live services staff.

For employees, adopting these standards can change day-to-day workplace dynamics by clarifying expectations of conduct, expanding reporting options, and reducing fear of retaliation. For HR professionals at Nintendo, the guidance offers a blueprint for documenting employer responsibilities, measuring risk, and demonstrating consistent application of rules across regions. That can help reduce legal exposure, improve employee retention, and foster a culture where psychological safety supports creativity and collaboration.

Operationalizing the guidance will require work: translating international standards into localized procedures, training managers to handle sensitive complaints, and embedding monitoring metrics into HR dashboards. Where worker representatives exist, consultation should be visible and ongoing; where they do not, HR must find ways to solicit input from diverse employee groups.

Adopting the ILO framework is not a one-time compliance task but a continuous process of assessment, prevention, and engagement. For Nintendo employees, that means clearer protections and more predictable responses when harassment occurs; for HR, it means a tested international blueprint to build policies that reflect both global standards and local realities.