Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sojourner1]

Your advice please.

I am 2/3 way through my contract and find I am burned out, frustrated, and feel the worse I ever have in my 35 years. This all started on day 1, but I was tolerant and stayed positive up until about 1 week ago. Things like getting yelled at while teaching classes for things that are not my fault or I wasn't told about that I couldn't possibly had known, things like last second changes like an added new class and new evaluations, significantly increasing responsibilities leading long 10 hour days, and things like being badgered again and again over books, CDs, and cassettes that I turned in when finishing courses to the office manager who is disorganized in managing inventory. While I won't out right tell her the truth that she is disorganized and wrong, it is wrong to place stress and blame on me regularly which is frustrating me to the point I have complained to a couple co-teachers about all this monkey business which probably is not an effective way of dealing with the situation. I am just trying to stay focused on doing a good job and managing all my increased responsibilities, but always presented with these issues which frustrate me increasingly. I am so tired of being asked again and again about this book or that CD when I am responsibly handling them or asked why I didn't do this or do that. I ready am doing 10 to 15 hours a week of extra prep on top of 29 teaching hours and still find more could be useful which means my class load is too heavy and is a part of what's wearing me down. They won't let up on asking about lost books and CD's until I look them in the face and get serious that I returned it. My co-FT's are not experiencing this as much as I am, because I am the scapegoat for the office manager's and vice director's mistakes. I have kept perfect records of my materials usage since month 1 due to recognizing since then that they don't have their act together in managing a school. I am seeing 20,000 to 40,000 won deductions each month for non-returned books when I returned them. When I asked what the extra deductions were for, they got defensive, told me, and I objected since it was wrong. There is always one person in an office that gets a hard time for higher ups mistakes in almost any mismanaged business and I am him which is severely dis empowering me. Being that morale is falling in the school and the owner cares since she doesn't want her organization to fall apart, she wants to take us all on a bus trip next weekend to a theme park for bonding, but everyone has to agree to go by tomorrow. I feel they need to close the school for a week to reorganize the management system to meet our changing needs (new curriculum), talk things over, and then have a staff morale booster event or trip without pressure staff to take a weekend on short notice, but it is not my call or place to tell them how to run their business or school. I can't sleep but only 4 hours a night despite exhaustion(insomnia), I am having nightmares every morning in 2 hours before wake up, became a regular drinker here while I didn't drink but 2 or 3 times a year before, can't get adequate sleep aid to reset my circadian rhythm, and feel awfully anxious for a big life change. I really grown to hate being here and very sure I can't come back ever again. I know this was a mistake for me and feel bad about joining a school with decreasing enrollment, but I didn't know as I was lead on that it was a good professionally operated school with a strong reputation. Enrollment and reputation has been declining since way before I arrived to my understanding.

My question is, should I just leave since I am not being treated with dignity and respect after trying many months? I have not had pay problems and don't know about my pensions and taxes, but I sure wish to leave on my own coin even though the people they fired were provided with a flight home, even a teacher who acted hateful to the Korean staff for his 4 months whom I replaced. I believe I am not liked due to being fat, having gained weight here, I will get screwed at the end, and I believe that if someone was available to replace me, they would fire me. I just can't be hateful, but I am showing signs of losing face and getting pissed off in the past week as they have been treating me worse. This school presents me a dilemma, because they know they are playing their game on the edge of unfairness, but not enough to make me run away immediately. They have had several runners who got frustrated and burned out over management issues and relations like I am experiencing. Expectations are high, but it is not professionally ran.

[cbclark4]

Stick it out dude, only 4 months to go, calm down take it easy.

Screw the books and the lesson plans, wing it for a while.

When they come to you to criticize just say yes and continue to do what ever you want.

Once past the next two months they can't fire you without some very good cause.

You still have the contract bonus and home flight pay ahead of you.

A couple of mid week binges may be in order.

Next contract take a public school job.

[Tony_Balony]

I'm sorry you are having a hard time. My boss is a fox with brains. So are most of the teachers at the the school We never argue. We have productive meetings and work on productive ideas productively. The students are happy. So are the mons. My pay goes up. I am prodded for contributions and new ideas.

Its still a hoggie life but a good one.

[merkurix]

Soujourner, do you have an F-2? If you do, just laugh at their face and leave. You don't have to take this cr@p.

If this is not the case, then don't push yourself too hard. If you are getting lackluster treatment, let them expect lackluster results.

[Jellypah]

I agree with cbclark -- 4 more months. Time will go by quickly and you'll have your flight paid and some nice walking money. Anytime you want to vent, PM me if you feel like it. I'll commiserate!

[Carlyles Ghost]

Sounds like you're having a tough go of it, but, here is a fairly flexible piece of advice I was given years ago. "...and when you can find no other reason for sticking around, stay because it'll piss somebody off."

[some waygug-in]

I once had a co-ordinator who regularly would accuse me of not handing in my monthly reports. She was in the habit of doing this in front of other teachers and tried to embarrass me into submission.

I found that simply telling her that I had indeed handed them in wasn't good enough, because she denied ever having received them.

So I walked over to the filing cabinet where said reports were stored.

I pulled out the group of reports that I had just handed in and lo and behold, my co-ordinator had placed a sticky note on them saying that she had indeed received and approved them.

I pulled them out and placed them on her desk in front of her.

I never had that problem again.

Of course, you may not be able to do something similar, but it's worth a try.



They may just be trying to piss you off in hopes that you'll leave early.

[Atavistic]

Is that 20-40K won book deduction allowed per your contract?

Do you have ANY sick days you can use, just to get a day off, catch some breath?

I'm not sure if going on this bonding thing would make things better or worse. Has everyone else agreed to go?

[kat2]

I would say stick it out. Remember you will recieve your severance pay and airplane ticket (hopefully thats in your conract) at the end, which equals out to as least 3,000,000won.

Perhaps you could come to some sort of compromise on the returning books thing. Perhaps make up a sign in/out sheet that you and the office manager must sign together each time you check out or return a book. You should each keep a copy just ot be sure no funny business is going on. It's ridiculous that you ahve to resort to treating them like children b/c they are so disorganized, but thats what you ahve to do sometimes!

Tell them you can't go on this bonding adventure, however you would be happy to go during the week or even out to dinner during the week. My weekends get comprised for no one!

Try to take some day trips to Seoul or Busan or whatever is close to you or to the beach/mountains, whatever you think will make you feel better.

Good luck!

[jellobean]

I'm not positive, but I don't believe your employer can deduct anything from your pay that is not specifically stated in your contract (taxes, health premiums, pension, excluded...)... If that is the case, you need to get pay stubs documenting these deductions (and then run down to labor).... You might also want to check to be sure your taxes, pension and health care are being paid properly... If not, then you have some definite bargaining power...

[MarionG]

Have a quiet, polite, chat with the person who you think is best (director, owner, etc.) Tell them that including grading, class hours, prep time, and whatever, you will no longer be able to work more than 8 hours per day.

Explain that you have been distressed that you're being told you haven't turned in books, CDs etc, and so in future you will not be able to turn in any more books, until the director, owner (not the disorganized person) has signed for their receipt.

Also, ask when you can expect the back pay for overtime. No doubt the kind of overtime they've been requiring is not covered in the contract. THAT'S your lead in to asking, again pleasantly, where in the contract it says they will charge you for books that were lost by the disorganized person? Hand them a copy of the contract as you say this, request that they show you. "Oh, it's not in there?" Gosh, and when can I expect that money back?

Good luck.

[kiwigal]

OP, I can empathize. I don't usually post here, because the trolls annoy the hell out of me.
I'm just intensely homesick. The increasing build up of rude little **** yelling all day is getting to me and I start to dread some classes. I've had a really rough deal most of the time here, and this has been commented on by many FT friends of mine who have been here for years. I don't wish to divulge the details, but it's not the easiest time I've ever had in my life! I am not coming back to this country once this year is over, if I do stick it out. Taking it one day at a time, with 6 months to go.

[oneofthesarahs]

Stick it out. I had what I considered to be an awesome job when I first got here. Then slowly, bit by bit, management has become crazier and crazier. It all started when the number of native teachers was cut down from two to one in an attempt to save money (even though we're raking it in) and to switch to more computer-based classroom work.

Now I never know what's going on at the school because my boss just can't seem to be bothered to tell me anything. Yet she loves complaining to me about my work performance even though 99% of the mistakes I make are a direct result of being left in the dark to new policies.

This all started going down when I had about 4 months left, and I decided to stay because I genuinely do like my students. I've got little less than two months left, and I'm glad I stuck around. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and time has been going by super fast. And by light, I mean fat bonus.

PM me if you wanna commiserate and swap stories or something.

[Tony_Balony]

sojourner1,

I didn't answer your question. Here's your answer. "Flip a coin". Your bonus and airfaire sounds like a bunch of money. It is but I can pee that amount of money away in a good weekend. They can make it a bunch worse than not paying you. You can take them to the board and then they can stretch the payment process out for over a year.

I ate a bunch of dirt here. In response, I've threatened, heisted, pushed and intimidated. I prefer to kick them administratively in the gonads but vandalism and theats work well too.

I'd leave. Take your cash and spend time in Thailand, then come back if you want. I have a good job now, but it took 4 failed attempts to get one and its just a hogie. I been there, I've even counted classes until I was done and even hours. It really is that miserable.

[sojourner1]