Sunday, 30 March 2008
Working in Japan
Probably the biggest downside of working in Japan for a Japanese company is that every now and then they make you work longer hours and longer weeks by throwing contract details in your face.
For almost the past 3 weeks now I've been working six day weeks (Monday - Saturday) due to the company now being in "Sales Period". Instead of teaching classes we get to perform "Demo Lessons" all day to try and enrol new students for the next semester.
While I can see why the company does it, almost zero consideration is given to the employees at the company. The Japanese say "Customer is god" but unfortunately that also means "Employees come last".
To make matters worse most people don't get overtime pay or any compensation at all for this extra work. It seems to be "expected".
If you have any interviews for a Japanese job coming up I highly recommend asking direct questions about any extra work that will be involved in your position and what compensation (if any) you will be getting.
Another great question to ask (and one that I really regret not asking) is "How do you define success in this company?". If you want to work your way up in a Japanese company never assume that you will be. Ask how it is done and if it's even a possibility.
Do you have any questions or advice about working in Japan? Comment away!
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Labels: japan, Teaching English in Japan
posted by Brad at
10:44 AM
5 Comments:
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Welcome. My name's Brad and I'm about to start my fifth year in Tokyo, Japan though lately I've found that that defines me as badly as saying I'm from Sydney, Australia.
Form a union at your company. I'm a member of the union at mine and the company generally gives us what we want.
Overtime pay? I get it.
Holidays? I get it.
Sick leave? Well, after my 3rd year. But they are pushing to have all instructors covered...
That has to be the fastest comment ever! Posted within 30minutes after the post went live! Cheers man!
A union? I don't know. Honestly the fact that we're all on yearly contracts has me a bit paranoid. My company overall is rather good but I don't I'm really not sure a union would change anything.
I knew when i moved to Japan the hours would be long and varied to what i was used to in Australia.
Maybe with teaching you have a more rigid timetable you're used to and when asked to do work out of the norm it comes as a shock.
My core hours, the hours i must be at work, are between 10am and 3pm.
The Japanese company i work for are believers meetings should be held outside of normal business hours, i.e after 5pm.
My days range from 8am start, i prefer to get in early compared to the 10am start excercised by many, and i try and get out by 6.
It's not rare though to have meetings called from anywhere between 5 and 8pm which can run until 10:30pm ... and have done on many many occasions. Guys in my office regularly work 12 to 14 hr days and longer. My boss works from 7:30 until 10:30 day in day out.
For me it's just part and parcel of living in Japan, and something i knew to expect.
I don't get paid overtime or any allowances, i am on a salary.
I've had similar experiences, too. For me, though, overtime (and lack of compensation) wasn't really the problem. If I had a career back home, for example, there would likely be periods in which I would have to stay late, do more, and so on. If I were back home and wanted to climb the corporate ladder, I would have to go beyond my job description, acquire more skills, and again, do more.
I dislike the glass ceiling. I can stay late and work unbelievably hard, which helps business and ensures I still have a job... but I can only climb so high.
There are trade offs, though, exactly as Neil said. And like any job anywhere, there are pluses and minuses.
By the way, good blog about life in Japan!
I think the movie 'Office Space' has nothing on how ridiculous many Japanese companies are when it comes to the shitty treatment of their employees all for the purpose of pulling in a few more dollars, hundred yen, whatever.