Job Discussion Forums

[rslrunner]

[RM1983]

Id say you have to work with the corporate culture not against most definitely. The irony that people come here for a year away from the similar pressures back home and end up somewhere like AEON makes me laugh and depresses me.

I have told a few people I know interested in making the move from Korea or China that they need a genuine interest or reason for coming here or it might be a disappointment in this sense. Working in Korea was
like one long holiday. The morning is yours, go to work about 3 and finish about 9 and then you can do what you want at night without worrying about being up early. Never work weekends.

Also, the hagwons there are usually struggling to even find a
teacher, so the chances of them risking a midnight run by hammering you like in Japan are pretty low. Generally expats in Korea live in a bubble, they go to expat bars only and about 95% of people dont speak Korean whatsoever. They tend to dislike Korea way more than people here dislike Japan .

So i guess it swings and roundabouts. Clearly the price of living in Japan is getting on with the culture which means working a bit harder.

I find this corporate indoctrination to be quite humiliating and demotivating, but I suppose that it is a good, realistic way to get a sense of the lifestyle here.

When I first hit a kind of culture shock phase it was the first thing that made me angry, all this conformity. But then the fact is that everyone is
subject to it in some way, so in a sense it actually isnt as strange and degrading as it might seem.

[rtm]

rslrunner, I think you're pretty accurate with what you say:

In the case of Japan, I think two things are necessary. First, one has to really buy into the expectations of the Japanese corporate culture, which seems very intent into molding people into the group image of the company, which to some people may seem.....never mind.

I agree, and I'd even take out reference to "company", as it isn't just corporate culture that people are molded to (foreign and Japanese alike); rather, the expectation of conformity affects many parts of life in Japan.

The second thing is that it is better to be younger to go to Japan. People closer to college are used to the rote memorization that is required. They are also more adaptable.

Agreed, but I'd probably switch that around -- People need to be more adaptable, so it might be better for younger people (but not necessarily).

[jmatt]

[rslrunner]

[rslrunner]

It may be helpful to recap some things at this point for readers who have not followed this thread all the way through.

I was an AEON failure. I left Japan after four days. This failure was compounded for me personally by the fact that I turned down another position in the States for this job, and lost an incredible amount of time and money. Then I had to explain to everyone I knew what happened. But that’s my problem, and mine alone.

So I came back to the United States and wrote about my experience on this forum.

Shortly afterwards, I was told by an Aeon representative through an intermediary that I should not be posting any content online here because my contract said that I could not talk about the company. So I should, and I quote verbatim, “Shut the hell up.”

It was not clear at the time, nor is it now, whether the company's admonition for me not to write here was a suggestion, a point of view, a position….or a threat of legal action.

In response, I pointed out that "The only legal jurisdiction for this contract is Japan." Since I was no longer in Japan, because the United States guarantees the right to free speech, because I lost more far money by the flight to Japan alone than I ever got by AEON, and most importantly, they were the ones who broke the contract in the first place, I refused to abide by this contract.

I said that I would make this whole issue a matter of public record.

The New York Aeon office stated in one brief e-mail that they respected my right to free speech.

So I wrote so much about Aeon that it's not funny.

The desired outcome for AEON, of course, was for me to cease and desist. But their implicit threat had the opposite effect: I was radicalized to write far more about the company than I otherwise would.

No legal action of any kind has been taken against me for anything I have written on Dave's ESL Cafe. Zero. None.

Aeon knows who I am. They have tolerated me saying things about the organization that are tough to hear. I respect that.

I think that going forward, the company may want to make certain parts of the contract legally binding in both Japan AND in other countries, if they want to prevent people like me from speaking their minds.

I also think my case should serve as a example to anyone affiliated with Aeon that the company's rules and regulations are certainly legally binding in Japan. However, the Aeon contract does not apply outside of Japan's jurisdiction. There should be zero confusion about that fact going forward.

Defiance is an appropriate stance under certain and rare circumstances, and I think this situation qualifies.

[cat mother]

Nah, rslrunner, you're giving yourself far too much credit.
Simply put - the honchos at AEON saw that you were getting nowhere with your rants and actually came across as a total fruitcake (whether or not you are one IRL, it's irrelevant), shook their heads with disbelief and let you be.

That's all.

[Pitarou]

Heh. You should count yourself lucky you've never tangled with the Scientologists.

[nightsintodreams]

A hero's work is never done...

[natsume]

“There is no delusional idea held by the mentally ill which cannot be exceeded in its absurdity by the conviction of fanatics, either individually or en masse”…Hoche

[rslrunner]

[Pitarou]

[Maitoshi]

Thank you for the smile, Pitarou! 😄

[rslrunner]

[Master Shake]