Korean Job Discussion Forums

[lush72]

Desk cowboy.

OK this is the first of my �Chaebol� articles. Please, no flaming. Actually, if you flame I truly don�t care- these are my thoughts, experiences, and feelings.

So the staff here is all super protective of their jobs. So much so, that there is a high degree of backstabbing and sabotage going on daily. People here are not fired like in the west. They are given a desk to �ride�. What is this? Basically they are given no work at all to do. (In theory) This makes them feel bad and lose face. They usually then quit.

However, this economy sucks. Really Sucks. So we have a number of �desk cowboys� here. Some still maintain a sense of decency about them, they try to help everybody, are really nice, don�t screw off, etc. And some, some are real bastards. They know that they have been given a desk to ride and they ride it with wonton abandon. Playing games, surfing for porn, making resumes and personal calls all day, neglecting personal hygiene, neglecting basic civility to coworkers, Burping and farting out loud as if they were home alone. Its like these people are daring the management to fire them. I cannot imagine half of this crap flying back home. Yet it flies like a 747 here.

For the most part I pity desk cowboys. One is a super nice guy. You can tell he is terrified of leaving the Chaebol. What else can he do? He is like a Zalem citizen; he knows that once he leaves he will never be allowed back. (Was that reference obscure enough for ya?!) This guy is kind to a fault. He is married, with one child, and a stay at home wife. Do I feel bad for him? You bet I do. But there is nothing I can do to help him. I am prohibited from assigning any work to him at all. Everyday he comes around and we have a chat. He hasn�t asked for work since the first time when I told him flat out that I couldn�t give him any. I feel bed. He feels bad. We feel bad. And there is not a thing we can do to change that. He always talks about how he is going to �resign� but we both know that�s a lot of hot air.

As is Korean custom, my department hates and backstabs the other departments here. Haha, that�s (sort of) a joke. What I was going to type, before I had a �bad fingers� attack, was that �As is Korean custom, my department goes out to dinner frequently with the other departments.�. Everyone attends. Including desk cowboys. This experience is surreal. The desk cowboys all sit together, usually at the end of the table. Non-desk cowboys act like the desk cowboys are not there at all. They act like these PEOPLE are invisible. They don�t speak to or respond to the desk cowboys. I am at a loss as to what to do in this situation. I usually surround myself with my team so I can avoid the situation altogether.

Once dinner is over the staff (naturally) goes to a nore bang. So do the desk cowboys. They get their own �special� room which non-desk cowboys are PROHIBITED from entering. Of course desk cowboys don�t go to the non-desk cowboy room either. I will say this- this is a retarded way of thinking, just fire the guys and be done with it. This is SUCH an uncomfortable, awkward situation. I�d quit in a flash if I were treated this way.

We had a desk cowboy sit as his desk for 2 days straight a month ago. He never left the office. Why? He went from desk cowboy to invisible cowboy. Management cut his internet access, killed his network password and identity, turned off his phone and killed his extension, and then, to top it all off, deactivated his security card. He wasn�t fired � he was just unwelcome. I never saw him again after those 2 fateful days. I have no idea what happened to him. I suppose I will never know.

So, dear reader, this is the suffering of a desk cowboy. If you see one of these people offer a smile or a kind word, as it could easily have been you.

This was my first installment of my �at the Chaebol� article series. If there is interest I will continue to post these here. What do you think?


UPDATE:

It�s with a heavy heart that I report on the latest desk cowboy�s fate. The translation team and I are close, not only because they speak flawless English, but also because they seem to be a really friendly group. Sadly, one of the guys there, we will call him �Alex�, has been given a desk to ride for some time now.

I like Alex. We have gone out drinking together, my wife likes his wife. All in all he�s a nice guy who would give you the shirt off his back. Unfortunately for him, the 2 vicious girls in that department have been spreading some vile crap about him. He confronted one of them (in a hall in full view of the other staff) and asked her about these rumors. The girl went off! Screaming, yelling, throwing her papers all over the floor. She made a right ass out of herself. However, the very next day Alex was riding the desk.

He�s been on the desk for a few weeks, not doing any work, as work isn�t being assigned to him. I felt so bad for this guy that I would ask him to do little things but that got me a warning not to make waves. 2 days ago one of Alex�s family members (an Aunt I think) passed away. He informed the senior in the translation team of his intent to go to the funeral the next day. From what I understand he was not told that he couldn�t go, he was told something along the lines of �Oh, well we have an important document that needs to be translated tomorrow, you haven�t actually done any work in the last few weeks have you? Oh well, I guess this company is not important to you.� So you know what he did? That�s right, he didn�t go to the funeral.

So its yesterday and I am in the hallway doing my �jellyfish� routine. My �jellyfish� routine is where I just simply float from office to office greeting my friends and chatting. I get down to the translation teams area and I can feel a perceptible change in atmosphere. The place feels like a crime scene. If I yelled �BAM�! I am sure everyone would have jumped. People are nervously chatting sporadically and no ones looking at Alex. He gets up, tears in his eyes, and tries to hold his composure as he walks out. I was like WTF just happened but I just zipped it and went back to my office. My mood was crushed as well.

Today I get the whole story. The important document that Alex was supposed to translate didn�t show up till 3 pm. It was in a large envelope that was delivered in a very public way. Everyone in translation was watching this and Alex was especially. He thought he had finally redeemed himself. So with much fanfare the envelope was delivered and Alex opens it. The contents? A child�s coloring book. He quit this morning.

I am so irritated I don�t even know what to say.

[dutchman]

Can you give us some examples of what employees have done to earn their spurs?

By the way, great read. Keep it coming.

[Bulsajo]

That was a great piece of writing.

Looking forward to more and I imagine- if the others are as good as the first- you'll be able to get it published at some point if you want.

Second Dutchman's call for info- maybe you could give the extreme cases; What's the worst someone has done to ride a desk, and what is the smallest infraction that has led to same?

And is there a word in common usage in Korean for a 'Desk Cowboy'?

'Wangta salaryman' or something similar?




P.S. And if I were interested in Battle Angel is there any particular place I should start? Is it a movie or a series? And if a series, what is the name of episode 1?

UPDATE:
Holy crap! And I thought middle school girls could be vicious...

Somehow your sweet chaebol job doesn't seem so sweet to me anymore.

[indytrucks]

I'm curious how you communicate with everyone around the office. Are they foreign, or do you speak fluent Korean?

I like this post. An interesting glimpse into how the other half gets on. Keep 'em comin'.

I'm also curious what the rationale is behind giving the desk cowboys nothing to do. Do they still get paid for doing nothing? This intrigues me.

Desk cowboys. I like that.

[kangnamdragon]

We don't have desk cowboys at my company. People are 'retired early.' Then, the people still hang around sometimes and try to help the company just in case the company will be able to rehire them at a later date. It is hard to understand this much loyalty to a company which just fired you.

I really like the story. It's good for people to see that the hagwon is different from real Korean jobs.

[Mr. Pink]

I asked this question in your other thread about the expense account:

Do you speak fluent Korean or are you a Korean?

[lush72]

[lush72]

[Mr. Pink]

[lush72]

[kangnamdragon]

I am curious about how much native speakers who work for corporations make here, but I don't think I'd want to discuss it openly.

[mack the knife]

I have Korean friends who work for Chaebol. Some of them have great gigs and some of them have their eyes open for bigger and better things.

The drinking/norae bang thing is not universal. A buddy of mine works for SK Telecom and he doesn't drink alcohol at all. He's usually home by 6 or 7pm.

Also, many (if not most) of these guys (chaebol employees) get FAT bonuses, such as wads o' cash on holidays (think 5 mil+) or at year's end, or other perks such as exercise bikes, digital cameras, etc.

On the other hand, several Korean family men I know don't usually get home until 9 or 10pm or later (which is not unusual for hogwon teachers but in the west eyebrows would raise). Also, many have to do a lot of extra-contractular(word?) work.

Interesting thread, Lush. Can't wait for chapter 2!

One thing: backstabbing is universal. I've never worked in any environment where it didn't take place.

[katydid]

Desk cowboys. Ha. I bet there is a culture like that springing up back West, as I hear it costs a lot of money to fire then rehire someone else.
I'm just picturing the Korean desk jockeys downloading porn onto their computers and flicking pencils into the ceiling tiles. Only their attitude will make them quit...if they can't be fired then they should have some fun with it.

[riverboy]

I even asked my Korean Grilfriend. She does not know either.
I can, however, drink most westerners under the table. Can I put that on my Resume?

[Bulsajo]