Job Discussion Forums

[shikushiku-boy]

Evenin' All!

Do you remember that scene in The Simpsons, when Bart and
Lisa had to go to Dr. Nick�s 24 hour emergency clinic. The
comic store guy was there to have his stomach pumped.
The comic store guy said to Lisa: �Loneliness and cheeseburgers
are a dangerous combination.�

Well, let me tell you about another dangerous combination...

An Australian teacher who has never learned to keep his big, fat mouth shut.

A big, inflexible, bureaucratic, obdurate, overly officious Japanese corporation.

I wish I could tell you that I quit my job with the big, etc., etc. Japanese corparation, and went on to a better, higher paid job...but I didn�t. I raised the white flag and ran away home. I fought the Corparation, and the Corparation won!

Now, for various reasons (that I�d perfer not to go into), I�m desperate to
return to Japan. But, frankly, it�s turning out to be very, very difficult.

I approached the big, etc., etc. Japanese corparation for re-employment.
I called them; their response was so cold I think my ear was frostbitten. I have definitely burnt that bridge behind me.

The thing is, if I�m lucky enough to get another shot at working in Japan, I don�t to make the same mistakes as before. Please, somebody, tell me how to work successfully with a Japanese boss.

I�ve seen some gaijin just bend over and take whatever the company dishes out, while maintaining the appropriate facial expression. And it seems to work quite well. One of these gaijin became a Nova assistant trainer (big whoop!).

I�ve seen some gaijin become hyper-pseudo-Japanese employees (e.g. going into peko-peko overdrive to get what they want), and that seemed to work quite well too.

I�ve tried the first approach. But it only lasted about six months. Then my big, fat mouth got me into all sorts of trouble. I�ve never been able to do the peko-peko thing convincingly. I�m sorry, but I�m just not made that way.

So, if you work successfully with your Japanese boss/manager, any advice
or information you can give me will be gratefully received (as will envelopes stuffed with 10,000 yen notes).

I thank you. m(-_-)m

[PAULH]

[kdynamic]

Getting along with a Japanese boss and corporate policies is really not that different from doing so back home in Australia/US/Canada/wherever. Know your contract. Uphold your end of it. Come on time. Dress right. Do a good job. Don't break the law or do dumb stuff. Try to keep your head down a little at work. And expect them to hold up their side of the contract and no more. If they somehow fail to uphold their end while you are upholding yours, politely and firmly remind them of what they agreed to. If the still won't play ball, put in your notice as it specifies in your contract and leave and find another job. It's not rocket science.

[PAULH]

No prizes for guessing which company you worked for. (It's corporation, by the way, must be hundreds of students out there with the word imprinted on their brains though misspelled).

My guess is they will not rehire you if you quit in your first year contract, or ever. Why hire ex-employees if they quit on you in the first place. (PS I just quit a PT job, asked to get re-hired, they said NO. Move on, bro.)

What about all the other schools like GEOS, AEON, ECC? Did you ask them?

Any other schools? I know half a dozen that recruit in Australia. Work the phones, my man. Plenty more fish in the sea and NOVA is not the only game in town.


You have been through the drill so i wont bore you with the job-hunt etc. You want to know how to survive in a job without your boss wanting to fire you?

Eikaiwa is not a career track job. Chances are you wont be in a job more than a couple of years. Like the post above says, do your job, dont pi-ss off students or get up the noses of office staff with your complaints. they don't want to know. You will likely leave there after six months anyway.

Sh-it happens at work. Suck it up, take a deep breath and then go out and take it out on a punching bag or a bottle of bourbon. Dont come to work drunk though. Dont take out your frustrations and anger on the managers and japanese bosses. Its not rocket science but it does get frustrating teaching students.

Japanese tend to be bureaucratic and officious and they love paperwork. Deal with it You will just run into brickwalls otherwise. Try to find other avenues to solve problems rather than dig in your heels and be difficult.

What they think and what they say are not always the same. learn to tell the difference and read between the lines. Learning Japanese helps.

Treat NOVA and the big eikaiwas as a training ground and not an end in itself. Stepping stones, so dont sh-it in your own pool and antagonise people. Keep your head down your opinions to yourself and dont sound like a know-all. At NOVA you are bottom-rung shelf-stacker. Learn how to do your job and network, while developing better skills.


Want a better paying job? Get better qualified. Find out what the people with good jobs do and find out how they got there. Experience, hard work and connections, usually. You dont have to kiss-arse at NOVA. I know I didn't (not much anyway). Most of those are bottom-feeder jobs anyway.

[shikushiku-boy]

Thank you for the advice/information.

I want to know how to work in harmonious coexistence with
my Japanese employer. Hopefully, a harmonious coexistence
based on mutual respect...

I was rather hoping to avoid a unidirectional/absolutist approach
to workplace relations.

Your point about not defecating in small bodies of water (e.g. ponds and pools) is well taken.

I like Japan, and I like the Japanese. I would very much like to
live and work there again.

Any other points of view will be perused with interest.

I thank you.

[D.O.S.]

[japan_01]

[PAULH]

[shikushiku-boy]

To be honest, I thought it better to let that comment
go through to the keeper.

Anybody who knows me, knows I'm no racist
(an idiot who doesn't know when discretion
is the better part of valour, perhaps...but
definitely no racist).

Perhaps, I over-egged-the-pudding in my
original posting.

I hope people wont get distracted from my
request for advice/information on conflict
resolution (vis-a-vis a Japanese boss).

I still hoping to find a 'middle way'.

It has been my experience that even a
fairly minor dispute can escalate into a
pistols at dawn, fight to the death, winner
takes all showdown.

There are 2 possible outcomes:

The boss wins (I get my gonads served up to me on a plate)

I win a totally Pyrrhic victory (my gonads are served up to
me at a much later date).

I want avoid both of these outcomes.
I would like a mutually satisfactory resolution.

Perhaps I'm being very unrealistic.
Perhaps there is no 'middle way'.

If that's the general consensus, I must accept it.

I thank you.

[PAULH]

Are you wanting to know how to deal with a particular individual boss, or are you talking about Japanese bosses in general.?

I cant help feeling you are going into every job with an agenda and you see every boss as the enemy, and you dont want to end up like a *beep*-whipped Uncle tom NOVA manager.

There is an invisible line you will not cross that will bring you into conflict with a boss as you will not compromise or meet him halfway.


Sure, some bosses are a-holes and many of them seem now to be running dispatch companies and doing all kinds of evil things. My advice then is rather than dealing with someone who is exploitative, money-grubbing and lacks business ethics, is simple to hand in your notice and quit. Some battles you can not win, and some battles are not worth fighting, as the rewards are too small. It have seen teachers threaten to sue their employers over 30,000 yen of unpaid overtime. Choose your battles.

I had someone send me another mail about what to do about a rogue contract. My advice was the same, know what the laws are and what your worker rights are. Your atitude here seems to be "If I work for you there is going to be conflict, lets work out how we are going to get along. Is there anything YOU need to change and how much are you willing to meet them half-way?

Are you actually giving you bosses a chance or are you simply digging in your heels and making them feel you are "trouble"?

Where are the boundaries here? Is it possible that you simply have difficulty assimilating here as the work rules cramp your style?

[D.O.S.]

[shikushiku-boy]

Japanese bosses in general.

I don't see this general boss as friend or enemy.
Just somebody with whom I am engaged in a
commercial transaction with (i.e. I'm selling
my labour, he/she is buying it).

In my opinion, conflict is inevitable.
I'm not saying this conflict is planned.
Mostly it's caused by misunderstanding,
or stress, or simply that one (or both)
is having a bad day. It is more stuff-up
than malevolence.

Of course, I'm willing to compromise.
I have compromised.
(I'm in the weaker position...I'd be silly not to).

It has been my general experience that it is my
(hypothetical) boss (having the stronger hand)
who is unwilling to compromise.

However, there is a line I will not cross (everybody
does have a line). And that is where the real trouble
starts. So, naturally, I'd prefer not to get to that point.

[PAULH]

This is what I mean by Uncle Tom, foreign employees trying to be more Japanese than the Japanese to get on the boss' good side. The OP obviously finds this behavior distasteful that one should have to act 'unwestern' or 'Japanese' to get by here.

[PAULH]

[D.O.S.]