Job Discussion Forums

[peabocardigan]

Englishgibson-

I meant two things.

First, that my employers (FAO, Dean, Directors, Teachers, President, Whoever) don't care about our private and professional needs, requirements, sensibilities as well as cultural differences and have not made any efforts to understand me and my colleagues. They merely treat us as 'valuable whities' who should spread 'foreign feeling' and 'get THEM to speak English'. As I said, their disinterest and disrespect refers to private and professional issues alike and I have to say that in my school that excludes pretty much all of my students, most of whom are great people and are the only thing that make this job bearable. Having said that, there has been NO academic support or guidance whatsoever.

Second, I meant that things here (at my workplace) are indeed very inefficient, to say the least which obviously has to do with their culture of unaccountability and the whole iron ricebowl mentality that seems to have survived. The result looks like pure laziness in the workplace but there's probably more to it though...

Pair the two (disinterest/lack of respect AND inefficiency) and it is sometimes very difficult to empathise with the Chinese way of doing things in the workplace. I take Roger's points and think he's quite right about us being treated a lot better than the regular workers. That still doesn't mean we're getting treated well though. Think about it as getting punched instead of being beaten with an metal bat. One is surely 'better' than the other. But does it make it right? The only difference is that we can walk out of this place anytime we want, which is exactly what many FTs do after 1 year of teaching in China.

I do think that many foreigners here expect too much from their employers in terms of having ALL their needs accomodated. Many foreigners in China do find it hard to shake their entitlement-complexes which they bring here from home. Of course you shouldn't expect everything to be the same as at home and in my eyes that includes teaching conditions etc and all the difficulties that are involved in teaching in a developign country. If that's what FTs want they should stay home to begin with.

However, I do think that in terms of employer-employee relationship we should meet halfway. But for my part and my job I can say that my university has not made a single step in trying to understand who we are, what we want and why we might want it. I can't even say that we violated behavioural codes in the 3-4 meetings we had in 1 year with our employers. We always presented our suggestions for change and requests in a pretty courteous manner overall but with NO result.

I am surprised that I don't actually hate this place. But that probably has to do with the friendships and bonds that I have forged here and which have made all the difference.

Anyway, that's my take on employer-employee relationships and only from my individual standpoint. I am just tired of one-sided standpoints on this issue. We should try to understand this place more but it works both ways, right?

[Roger]

Inefficiency is a very obvious reality that we don't need to discuss in detail; this is inherent in socialist economies, and this country's economy is still rooted in communitarianism and collectivism.
That's why our colleagues are so disorganised; each has a job but few jobs overlap, and colleagues hardly know when the person YOU NEED TO SEE is going to be around - he or she simply is absent at the moment (and perhaps for days!).

BUt our colleagues must put in a hell of a lot of time attending meetings and reporting to their superiors.
Thank Dog you are a FT - you have more freedom and more spare time! Consequently we are, perhaps, also being taken less seriously. And because of this respect is not always shown to us. They envy us our privileges. THis may be the reason why we get notified of important timetable changes at the last moment.
But as my case proves, if you play by their rules you stand a reasonable chance of being treated fairly. I am going to have to buy a mop for my apartment because my FAO doesn't "have the time" to do it - he has, but he can't get himself off his bum, or out of the campus); I will get a refund from him for a mop I am going to buy. Meanwhile, the TIME and NEWSWEEK mags keep piling up in his office, and I am the only one who reads them (on loan from him). WHy do they have the extravagant privilege of a subscription to two American publications??? We don't even have an English language newspaper...

[deezy]

Roger: You're fortunate you're getting a refund for your mop! I've had to buy a new one and there's no chance of a refund.

As for contracts, the Chinese management here didn't sign my contract for 6 weeks when I first arrived, but they still paid me for that time... and during that time I was in hospital, so unable to work. They now realise that contracts are important to westerners, but tell me that to the Chinese they are not important. This has been a year of education for them, as well as me.

Learning the way the Chinese do business has been an eye-opener, to say the least.

[englishgibson]

Yes Deezy that is very much true. Speaking of Contracts in China, I feel that our relationships with our employers often depend on how much we can or are ready to compromise with regards to our Contracts too.

Cheers and beers

[Mackem]

most of what I read tells me just how lucky we are here.
We ask and we get .......... no big deal.
4x4 transport for a trip.........easy
New bike, no problem
Maid service for apartments
Computers updated regularly
tickets for trips and time off too
no weekend make up days for holidays~ school believes holidays are holiday
infact a regularly organised society for us to work, live and exist in,
yep, life is good if you dream!!!1

[englishgibson]

[peabocardigan]

[Zero Hero]

'Mackem', your employers have to offer what they do. If they didn't, how else would they get anyone to work up in that barren wasteland irrevocably scarred through industrialisation?

[englishgibson]

Standards and rules in many private schools/centers are largely flexible in China from my point of view, and many employers are highly compliant with the market, again in my opinion. That has a fairly positive effect on many businesses, however it usually has a negative effect on the education and businesses involved in education. With regards to public schools in China, as far as foreign academic staff is concerned, there also is a fair amount of flexibility from the leaders in the �hierarchy�. The amount of flexibility might be causing the �Rule changes� so often as well as usually �No standardized approach�.

We are to attract the business for employers, we are to motivate the learners or would be learners, and we are to bring in that foreign culture into China. Those are the expectations of us and that�s the way it is and will be for a while. Of course the rules/standards will often favor the employer in China. We are here to convince them otherwise and justify our reasoning. It takes loads of patience, knowledge and experience, as well as cultural awareness, which many of us sometimes do not have.

�Accountability and responsibility� for what the employers sometimes do comes with the market and the need. Even the public schools are those days becoming highly competitive due to that �One child policy in China� and the fact that there are too many schools for not as many young learners.

In my opinion, reasoning with or confronting our employers we should consider the importance of the issues brought up. I know that it is frustrating to have �a nonfunctioning fridge� in the kitchen or seeing the employer going back on his/her word with regards to a small part of the Contract, although we should evaluate our complaints, at times bypass the little ones and come out as politely and justifiably as we can with more significant ones when needed.

At my place where I am currently working I could complain every day about something (teaching approach of Chinese, poor academic material/support and unwillingness to supply better, split shifts, inadequate course introductions etc). At my previous place where I worked (EF English First), I could complain about sh*t-load of things and highly significant ones too on daily bases, even tough I tried to be as selective as I could (did not work out due to my low level of compliance with regards to educational, contractual and ethical issues).

The question is whether we are able to adjust or be adjusted. The question is whether we are able to convince or be convinced. The question is whether we are able to last or give up.

Ohh, I hope I haven't lost'cha here guys.

Cheers and beers

[peabocardigan]

[peabocardigan]

[peabocardigan]

[peabocardigan]

[peabocardigan]

Sorry for the multiple posting of this. For some reason my computer was really slow and I made the mistake of hitting the submit button more than once.

Apologies to all

[englishgibson]

Peabocardigan, it’s an uphill battle to make changes to any system, hence the Chinese education system with regards to the English language as well as to prove ourselves to the Chinese who work with it. If we come and go, if we confront more than conform, we won’t get far, will we?

Proving that we are good enough takes much longer than an individual one-year Contract.

Yes, I hope that my dedication will pay off one day. So far, it has gotten me a fine accomplishment and recognition at an excellent Guangdong public school, though it also has gotten me fired ones at the EF English First, gotten me in trouble with the EF for filing my “integrity and reality reports”, and provided me with a rather unstable and insecure life on the moment. Although, I believe that all of it here in China is worth it for me and my present job will prove so.

Why in hell did you post your same thread five times above, Peabocardigan?

Cheers and beers