Korean Job Discussion Forums

[karoly]

Hi all:

I hope you're enjoying the beauty of Korea; I am.

My story:

I love my current job. I work at a private company teaching stressed out execs. My manager is quite nice and isn't pushy. In short, if I keep the students happy, the company and institute are happy.

My employer is ok. They are an institute and for most part leave me alone. Problem is that they have me working illegally( as far as I can tell ). I am supposed to only work at the institute( or so they tell me ), not outside of it. The other problem, the institute people are quite disorganized; this works for me( they don't have time to keep a close eye on me ) and against( dictims abound; often counterproductive ).

I have asked for a receipt for my salary( which is paid on time ) that outlines the deductions; to no avail. They take off taxes( around 66 000 from the 2M monthly ), but that's all. I have asked about pension; no reply. They waited for 3 months to see if I was worthy before they agreed to get me onto health insurance. Their reason about health was that they wanted to keep a low profile with respect to the gov't. before they made any moves; uh, yeah.

I don't feel particularly secure with this job. I was hired to work for 9 months, but the contract is with the mother institute for 12. They've said no worries, but the fact of the matter is that I have an "impending doom" feeling every time I think of "mother".

You see, mother wants me to follow their texts( custom made ie. photocopied from other texts, for the company ). The students hate the texts so I have adapted my teaching so as to sharpen TOEIC test-taking ability( which is the main desire of the students ).

The students tell me they enjoy the class. That said, I'll never play poker in Korea; twice the number of faces sitting at the table. To be fair, they are, for the main, a great bunch. They all want to drink with me and the ones that have are alot looser in class. I think drinking is probably the best way to increase the confidence to speak within a class, but I feel that( in my case ) it is counterproductive since these people will never drink with their bosses( but this is a tangent ).

I can put a spin on my teaching method so as to placate mother's desire to follow the texts but there are too many variables at work to remain completely at ease( when is this ever the case? ).

I want to use this experience to catapult myself into teaching conversation in a university setting, or even at a corporation. My overriding fears may burn me out first though.

My question:

Should I adapt, enjoy, and when confronted by mother stand my ground( I've got no problem in this respect, and mother knows it ); all the while looking for another job as backup, or should I give my notice and get out?

I understand that it could be ALOT worse.

My request:

Cut me a little slack with your advice. Do feel free to be brutal, but in a nice way; I'm rather pensive to begin with.

Thank you for your time.

Take care.

Sincerely,



Karoly.

[Austin]

I can appreciate you not feeling secure, and I will attempt to not be as brutally honest as I prefer to be.

Two things really stuck out from your post: your use of "mother" to refer to your employer (which made me think that there were some deeper issues that need to be addressed), and the conflict within yourself over whether to stand your ground or capitulate. The first issue is certainly deeply personal, so I will leave that one alone. However, the second issue I believe I might be able to help (it's free either way).

Why do you feel that following the dictates of your employer are an all or nothing choice for you?

Considering the discussions you have already had with your employer, you know that they know you are willful (I picked up on the "mother knows it"), yet you claim that you want to use this position as a way to advance your employment options. Unfortunately, willful (a.k.a. stubborn) people in Korea tend not to be given very good references, especially in the field of language education, and that may very well be where some of these feelings of concern stem. Therefore, you might want to consider whether being willful is the best way to attain the goals that you have set for yourself.

If not, might I suggest that you ration your ego accordingly to allow for your employer's ego to be fed by accepting their comments and thanking them with false praise. It does not mean that you have to follow their lead, but it will help your cause if you give the impression of being more approachable, agreeable, and appreciative of their input (though you are not, as your ego has you believing that you know best).

Understand that I am not saying that they have a clue about what they are talking about in reference to what material they want you to use, but by you being obtuse and confrontational, you are only sidetracking yourself from your previously stated goals. Sacrifices for the moment are not something that I champion, but if you truly want to get ahead you might have to restrain your ego around your employer.

Personally, I would not concern myself with receipts and the like, as cash is used widely in Korea thanks to common practices of graft, bribes, etc. By asking them for certain documents, you are only upsetting the possibilities for creating a positive image of yourself in the eyes of your employers. Moreover, you already know that what you are doing is illegal, so why would you want to compound the problem by pushing them into a corner?

Do you want to be seen as a headstrong heathen at headquarters or as an extremely exceptional employee?

In short, try easing up on the attitude. I know you have to be hard to survive this place, but the choice is yours to make as to what it is you really want to accomplish by pushing some of the issues that you have raised. In the future, try not to fragment yourself and choose your battles more carefully. That way you may be taken more seriously, instead of just being seen as a chronic complainer (not that they see you in that light).

If you would like to read a personal accounting of a similar situation, I would be happy to PM you, though I do not know of how much use it would be to you, since we are different people.

With free advice, you get what you pay for in the end!

Best of luck

SCSA

BTW, a Korean friend of mine mentioned that nine times out of ten, he lets others have their way to trap them into believing that they are the proverbial Queens. Then (the one in ten), he lets them know who is the King!

[karoly]

Dear Austin:

Thanks.

The hardest part about asking for advice is receiving it.

Thanks for giving in a kind manner.

I'll loosen up.

Thanks for the words.

Sincerely,



Karoly.