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Japanese man leaves horrible job, gets horrible letter from the company
- Black101 6y agoAt least they were straightforward... what I hat the most is when they do something behind your back to hurt you.
- jeabo 6y agoIt sounds very emotionally rough. I'd worry more about the legal ramifications and in which direction they go.
- iancmceachern 6y agoReminds me of my experience working for Dr. Jarvik at Jarvik Heart in Manhattan...
- ficklepickle 6y agoI guess I shouldn't judge someone by looks, but he just looks like a horrible person.
- phendrenad2 6y agoWhy do people work for these companies? Is there no other option? Is the pay great? Is it not clear that they're a bad company before getting hired?
- ForHackernews 6y agoMaybe similar to these: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26512830 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26512830
- tarboreus 6y agoFrom my understanding, working for a major company is really bound up in your social standing in Japanese society. Think of it like health insurance in the US, except everyone in the entire society will kind of think you're a bum if you don't work for one of these companies, and it will color things like your interactions with police and your ability to rent an apartment. And, I think, it's more common these days not to work for one of these companies, so it's an issue for more and more people.
- akudha 6y agoyour interactions with police Fuck, as if the cops need yet another reason to be nasty :(
- granshaw 6y agoIf it’s getting more common why isn’t societal attitudes and expectations adjusting with the times then? Surely the Japanese are aware of their backward work culture and inefficiency in the eyes of the rest of the world?
- Mizza 6y agoThe article mentions _two_ instance of people hiring somebody to quit a job on their own behalf - what? I know there are some Japanophiles here on HN - can somebody explain what that's all about?
- cnasc 6y agoHere in the US you can hire a broker to negotiate with a car dealer for you. This is because car negotiations are tedious, uncomfortable, and full of pitfalls and the broker is an expert who can handle it the best possible way (for a fee). This is probably the same sort of thing, an expert quitter can turn in your resignation and wont won’t be enticed/coerced to take it back
- grayclhn 6y agoOT, but maybe useful for some people here: AAA has (had? It’s been a while.) an under-publicized car-purchasing program where they negotiate a small fixed markup for members. It was great when I used it, least stressful purchase of my life.
- rapsey 6y agoI guess for those who do not want to put themselves through that situation it is easier to pay someone to do it for you.
- quelltext 6y agoBreaking up with your partner is not pleasant. They may cry, throw things at you, threaten to hurt themselves etc. Quitting a job is similar. I think even outside Japan it can be awkward leaving a job if you feel in some way indebted to your company. Now imagine your boss shouting at you, or maybe worse, appealing to your obligations not to leave the company, convincing you how doing so would make you unworthy of being considered a decent person, or even threatening to give you bad references, etc. Sometimes it's actually that the other party isn't even malicious and doesn't have to be as ugly as described above. They may truly believe it's in your best interest not to abandon something. Many people give in when faced with back pressure in those situations or at least struggle with going through such a stressful situation, i.e. many people know they may not be strong enough to go through with it when facing confrontation, so is it a surprise that a service that acts on your behalf is something people would use? Now add to that that in Japan people generally try to avoid confrontation (esp. those likely to suffer at the workplace / school) and then imagine maybe being in a company that bullied you for years and you've seen others struggle with mustering up the courage to leave. Also, as far as I know, job hopping is still not seen as good. Many people still hope to stay at the first company they got into for a long time, with parents and partners hoping the same (and often pushing back against job changes).
- jandrese 6y agoThat letter reads like his boss was exceptionally butthurt about the guy leaving. I'm guessing their working practices are becoming more well known and it's impossible to find qualified people to take the job.
- miles 6y agoThe original tweet[1] containing a photo of the letter is from a Twitter account that no longer exists. Hard to determine the provenance and veracity of said letter, which is full of grammatical errors.[2] [1] https://twitter.com/kachokun/status/1357366042972987396 https://twitter.com/kachokun/status/1357366042972987396 [2] https://twitter.com/romanbaken/status/1357549910124449793 https://twitter.com/romanbaken/status/1357549910124449793
- fao_ 6y agoIt's literally on archive.is, though. https://archive.is/oTX33 https://archive.is/oTX33 along with their twitter account: https://archive.is/VNQg8 https://archive.is/VNQg8
- unnouinceput 6y ago"If it's on internet it must be true" - Wernher von Braun, winner of Nobel peace prize, 1944
- miles 6y agoYes, I am not doubting that the tweet was made by that (now nonexistent) Twitter account, but the authenticity of the letter.
- fao_ 6y agoThen why bring up their deleted account? Clearly, enough people from Japan thought it was real -- so whether this specific case is or is not real, the general atmosphere in Japan is such that they find it likely enough to be real, which by itself is worth reporting on.
- speedgoose 6y agoIt sounds fake to be honest.
- hutzlibu 6y agoToo much of reality does, though.
- speedgoose 6y agoFor sure, but most fake sounding stories online are actually fake. I would trust this if it's confirmed, by a reputable newspaper from example.
- lazyweb 6y agoHow could a company conduct itself in such a way, and still expect to retain a fruitful business? As someone from europe, I sometimes don't know what to think of japanese work culture from stories like these. Regardless if it's real, I often feel as if I'm missing a lot of context.
- FpUser 6y ago>"As someone from europe" The way Europe (Italy in particular) treats for example guest farm workers is hardly better if not worse. Edit: Downvoters might want to take a look at this for example: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/11/world/europe/a-womans-death-sorting-grapes-exposes-italys-slavery.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/11/world/europe/a-womans-dea...
- albertopv 6y agoAs an italian, poor condition of agricultural workers it's a well known problem, especially in south Italy well they "hire" african aliens, sometimes working for 2 or 3€/hour
- systemvoltage 6y agoThere are no horrible workplaces in Europe?
- yawaworht1978 6y agoDo not worry , some European companies do this via backstabbing and hiding behind "procedures" and hr behaves like a banana republic court, or wannabe junta. They try to make sure as little as possible is spilled to the public. If they do and if you can, have them fire you and then send the corresponding tribunal after them. Also make sure to post a candid review on glassdoor. Perhaps google and LinkedIn. Do not forget to hit back, do not be their punching bag. You will find out that bullies crumble very fast when facing resistance. This is one of the reasons why I will always support unions, as long the employers and managements cannot get their egos in order.
- _Wintermute 6y agoI faced this as a foreigner working as a post-doc at a French company where it turns out French labor laws are a double-edged sword. I was offered a much better job towards the end of my contract and therefore handed my resignation in. I was then summoned to a meeting by HR and told if I wanted to leave before the end of my set-term contract (CDD) I was required to pay a considerable amount of money. Thankfully my own manager (whom I was leaving) had my back and pointed out that since I was leaving for a permanent role (CDI) which my current employer had not yet offered to me in writing (though informally expected me to carry on), I could get around this. I honestly don't know what they were expecting. How can you carry on working for a company against your will with the threat of being sued if you tried to leave, what sort of a working environment is that?
- yawaworht1978 6y agoSorry to hear about that. It is very important imo to always remember that it is just a job. Even if you are career driven, self starter, workaholic, try to soak up as much knowledge and do not do crazy overtime except maybe a bit in a startup if you are one of the first 10 employees and believe in the product. No company will say thanks for wrecking your personal life and ending up burned out. It is still perfectly possible to climb the career ladder without overtime and doing extra tasks for no extra pay etc. Time is a persons most valuable asset and the companies know that. Do not waste it on repetitive monkey tasks which are the result of multiple product development failures covered up by incompetent managers. There is not much to learn in these places. These are for people with sub average ambitions, fair enough. Your point with the hr would be funny if it weren't so sad and real. Anyone who was ever subject to such will immediately understand why concentration camps have happened. Never trust HR beyond rota planning and perhaps payroll. They are the ones posting these ridiculous developer job adverts, we have all seen them.
- adrian_mrd 6y agoAdjacent: I found this part of the article particularly interesting: “People-rental services are fairly common in Japan, where you can rent anyone from a middle-aged man to give you life advice, to someone to become friends with your spouse to see if they’re cheating on you.”
- bpiche 6y agoI went to school with the author of this article. We actually lived in the same foreign language immersion dormitory together and used to hang out now and then. He has been living in Japan and writing for this magazine for many years. What a trip.