I'd finally hit my breaking point and quit my job. I had no new job lined up and with a wedding sucking on my finances, no money saved either. Needless to say, it was far from an ideal situation. But I was at my mental and emotional limit, so it was something that had to be done. Amazingly enough, merely quitting would not mark the end of my problems with this company.
Sometime in the middle of August, a week or two after I'd originally turned in my notice of resignation, the president handed out two papers. One was sort of a "promise to the company" where we'd sign this form promising to be good little workers and work hard or whatever. Another was a proof of identity - this one was tricky, because we had to have two co-signers sign for us. I believe I've mentioned before that co-signing in Japan is a pretty big deal. For most Gaijin, if we need a Japanese co-signer, we turn to our work colleagues, who'd spend a good amount of time soul-searching and consulting with the Lost Gods of Mt. Fuji before giving us an answer (which isn't always yes!). If its work asking for co-signers...well...that creates a bit of a problem doesn't it?
Since I was quitting the company, I figured these documents didn't apply to me. I stuffed them in my desk drawer and didn't give them much thought. However, in my last meeting with the president, a day or two before my last day, he told me to be sure to turn the papers in - "or else you might not get paid." Nothing about that seemed right to me, but I took the papers out of my drawer and stuffed them in my bag anyway.
My last day of work was somewhat uneventful. About half of the company - including the president and the supervisor - were away on a company trip. I actually preferred it this way. The remaining staff did give me a proper send-off though, which I was very happy for. Officially, to explain why I was quitting, I cited my wedding ceremony in September and that I wouldn't be able to work properly. Most people though, knew that this was a pretty lie. "What's your real reason for quitting?" One Japanese lady asked. With the president and supervisor gone, I could have laid it all out on the table, but I just didn't feel like doing that. I simply just wanted to quit and be done with it. "Saa..." I said, which is the Japanese way of saying "Well, I don't really want to go into detail about that." Even if I didn't explain my woes, most of them had seen the supervisor's treatment of me in person, or heard about other incidents through the gossip mill. Besides, most of them had their own personal gripes with the company as well. So, they understood.
I can tell you, not having to go into work the following Monday was a wonderful feeling I hadn't felt in a long time. I did miss my Train Crew though.
I wasn't completely done with the company yet though. There was still the two documents the president had handed out. I thought I'd make an attempt to at least turn them in, so I went to my mother-in-law. She read over the documents, but caught something she didn't like. She told me that if I signed these papers, got the co-signers, and turned them in, it would give the company the power to hold me liable for anything for the next 5 years. I quit in August, but let's say the computer I used broke down in December, or hell, even 2 years from now. Legally, the company could say that the computer breaking down was a result of things I did to it, and hold me responsible to pay for a new one. My mother-in-law knew about my woes with this company, and she just didn't trust them. "You don't even work there anymore!" she exclaimed. She told me that she wasn't going to sign, and that I should just forget about it.
I didn't exactly trust the company either. So I took her advice and simply forgot about the papers. However, maybe a week or so later I got an email from the company reminding me to turn the papers in. They said that even though I quit, I was an employee when the papers were handed out, therefore they applied to me as well. Though the person who sent the email wasn't the president, at the end of the email he included a message from the president. This message more or less said that this was something the parent company had decided, and as such, people who failed to turn the papers in would have their paychecks withheld.
I asked my mother-in-law about this latest development, and she suggested I talk with the Labor Bureau, which I did. The counselor I talked to said that the papers themselves weren't at all uncommon. Perhaps not a norm anymore, but not uncommon. What was weird, was the timing - usually, these papers are handed out when people first join the company. None of us had done this paperwork, so okay, maybe its something he's starting late and wanted to retroactively get the current staff on as well. And it was very strange to be demanding these papers from someone who no longer worked there. The counselor said that turning in the papers was ultimately my decision, but withholding paychecks for any reason was illegal. He even made a copy of the page in the law book where it states that withholding of paychecks is not allowed. He advised me to reply to the email I'd gotten and say that I wasn't turning the papers in by my choice, but as withholding a paycheck is illegal, please pay me on the proper pay date. He said that if I didn't get my paycheck, to take it to the Central Labor Bureau in Osaka. So I did exactly that - I wrote an email saying I wasn't turning in the papers because I no longer worked there, withholding paychecks is illegal so please pay me, and if I didn't get paid I would take the matter to the Central Labor Bureau. I even scanned and sent the copy of the law book page the counselor had given me. I sent this email, but got no response to it.
The only thing to do now was to wait to see if I actually got paid or not. Given everything that had happened with this company, and the president's attitude, I fully expected not to. I hoped, however, that he would prove me wrong.
If I may, allow me to present a short timeline. My parents arrived in Japan on a Thursday afternoon. The following Friday, I woke up early and checked my bank account, as it was payday. It was empty - as I'd expected, I did not get my paycheck. The next day, Saturday, was my wedding ceremony.
I was angry - of course, not getting paid for the work you'd done is a maddening thing - but more than that, the president knew about this. He knew what day my parents were coming and he knew the day of my wedding ceremony. Despite that, he did it anyway. I can only assume that this was an intentional malicious act - is there any other way to see it?
I was angry, but I had to put that behind me. My parents had come to Japan for the first time ever, and I was about to get married. But once the dust settled, it would be time to fight. And fight I would.
...Bet you were expecting me to end the entry here, huh? Not this time!
The day after my parents left Japan, I went to the Central Labor Bureau. Although I had to go through a couple of bonehead counselors, the lady who was eventually assigned to my case was very nice and also seemed shocked/outraged at the series of events at the company. She arranged to go down there personally to have a talk with the president. He seemed to be avoiding her to some extent - the meeting got rescheduled twice - but she did make it out there. She asked if anyone else had gotten their salaries withheld, and he admitted that it was only me. She asked the reason why, and he had said "kekkyoku kanjouteki" - "ultimately, emotional." She then pointed out that withholding salaries is illegal, to which he reportedly replied "Oh, is that so?" With the law against him, he was forced to pay me, which he did one month after the scheduled pay date.
As the lady explained the meeting to me, she also said, "right as we were finishing up, the president asked me to ask you if you would still turn in those papers." I almost laughed over the phone. "No, I don't think so." "Right. I'm just conveying the message," she says. I could hear the incredulity in her voice, as if she were almost embarrassed to ask such a thing. To date, I don't know why getting those papers was so important to him, especially from an employee who'd quit.
I'd also asked about my cut salary, but apparently it is legal to cut someone's salary - to a point. Unfortunately, there was nothing further I could do about that, and my final paycheck was still under the cut wages. My case advisor seemed apologetic about that, but was very happy that I was getting my pay. She was a nice lady and helped me tremendously.
At the same time, I'd also phoned the consultation department of the parent company. Since the president liked to blame them so much, I just thought I'd "confirm" all the things he'd put on their shoulders. I asked about my cut salary and my paycheck being withheld, and told them that he'd said that this was their call. They promised to look into it, and a representative did talk to the president at some point. A few weeks later, they contacted me to report the results of their findings - the president was forced to admit that the pay cut and the withholding of the paycheck were all 100% his doing. Apparently, though I'm not familiar with the details, the president also got a stiff talking-down to from one of the representatives at the parent company. That was all I wanted to accomplish - to catch him in the lies and for someone in a position of power to give him a talking-to, although I doubt the message got through.
And with that, finally, I was done with this company.
***
Sour Apples - Aftermath
It's been two and half months since I quit my job. I'm still unemployed - I've been looking for work but the pickings are still slim. I've been to a few interviews even but didn't get them. I also went to Tokyo for job interviews, but those didn't pan out either. The job market should start getting better in the next month, so I'm hoping to find something soon.
If the president was trying to screw me over with the timing of the pay cut and withholding my paycheck, he royally succeeded. The pay cut threw off my calculations for saving for the wedding. As a result, I had to use up most of my August check for the wedding, which meant that I couldn't pay bills. And then I didn't get my September check, which left those bills unpaid - I only had about $15 dollars in my bank account, and this was with my wedding taking place and my parents in Japan. Finally getting the check in October, as well as donations I received from Gaijin Smash (thank you very much!) let me at least catch up with August and September, but I'm still two months behind on most bills.
When I quit, I had planned to do outsource translation for the company - I was familiar with the work and while the pay was low compared to the standard, at least it was something. However, after getting my paycheck withheld, I lost any and all desire to do that - I didn't want to help them out in any way, especially considering that their pay rates are so low (the existing outsource staff under my tenure also realized it was a low pay rate, and I had to sort of lower my head and apologize and blame management. The president wanted to cut it even further!).
Given the situation, the smart thing to do would have been to either keep working the job, or cancel the wedding. The job was making me miserable everyday, and canceling the wedding...I can't imagine trying to look my wife in the eye and saying "you know that wedding you've been looking forward to all year? Yeah, we can't do that now." So, this is just one of life's tough spots, but I'm no stranger to that and I'll get through it somehow.
I still keep up with many of my former co-workers. As I've said before, they're all good people. A-san found another job with a company in a similar field. She tried to get me a job there but things just didn't work out. The former computer programmer is still unemployed as well, but he admits that he hasn't been looking. He has money saved up, so he's just taking it easy for the moment and is considering taking a trip somewhere. Curly and Ms. Shocker are also doing okay, though both also are looking for their way out. Curly hasn't been subjected to any bad treatment, yet, but really dislikes what has happened to everyone else, and can't help but to wonder when it will be his turn. Ms. Shocker actually wrote an email to the president in which she tried to tell him that she felt that people were being treated unfairly. He called her out for a private talk and, from what I understand, basically just called her names. Apparently, he said that if people had problems with him, they were best to just keep their mouths shut about that. The next time I saw Ms. Shocker, she had all sorts of colorful adjectives for him, including "that fucking asshole bastard."
Both Curly and Ms. Shocker said that I'd changed since leaving the company - I seemed to be much more happier and stress-free overall.
As for the company, 2-3 more people have quit since I left. Doris quit a few weeks before I did, primarily to go back to China but not without her own gripes with the company. One Japanese girl, a relatively new hire, was outraged at the idea of withholding paychecks, and quit. Those who haven't quit are quietly plotting their escape. Apparently, there have been a lot of new hires in the past few months. There are three new computer programmers to replace the old one. Three! We all couldn't help but to wonder "why couldn't you have done that sooner to help out the first guy?!" Just taking a quick mental survey, aside from the president, the supervisor, and Small Wonder, I can't think of anyone else working there who'd been there when I first joined the company a little less than 2 years ago.
All in all, it was an experience. Not entirely a pleasant one, but I learned a lot. Hopefully I can take everything I learned and put it to good use somewhere down the line.
And now, finally, I can put this story to bed.
Thank you for your continued support and donations! It is very much appreciated and of a tremendous help to me!
For donations, please paypal to azrael@outpostnine.com. There is also a direct link on the Outpost Nine homepage.
and now on to the next misadventure episode of the caped gaijin crusader, Captain Azrael! Passively aggressive against japanese corperate assholes; wooing the hearts of innocent minded women; neither confirming nor denying the size of his chocolate manhood; and kancho avenger for every gaijin teacher who was violated by the 2 finger joust of sexually misguided boys and girls!
...
we still want wedding pictures you know?
(Az's Note: I just got them back this week. They will come soon.)
FIRST!
I guess there are some times in life where you just really have to believe in karma. If kancho is the appropriate response to coming face-to-face with underage boobie, then this guy is about to get seriously violated.
Glad you're out of that situation, even if it's tough.
お疲れ！ｖ
Im really glad you got your money dude! Hang in there, I'm sure youll find a job soon
Interesting story. Glad to hear all the details. I have read your last 10 postings in a big block just now and was annoyed that you weren't going to tell this story even though people had paid a bit (I didn't so I guess I am a free loader).
Great surprise to see that you posted it though. Shitty treatment and I am sure with hindsight you must realize all the things you could have/should have done in those situations. Better luck next time, and although its mean I think I am secretly hoping that things get bad again for you so there can be more stories.
Thanks for helping me procrastinate but I have to finish my study for my Japanese speaking exam in 12 hours. Way to ruin my motivation az...
Amazing story, Az, as usual. Gambatte!
Try to get a book deal, start your own project or even a translation company. Hard to do with no money in the bank, but not impossible. Layout a nice business plan and start talking to people in venture capital companies. May be worth the hassle.
...And the epic Az saga is over. Does it feel better now that you got it of your chest? Or was it a chore?
This is a very common situation in Japan, that is having to quit, but Ive never encountered anything like the signing of obigatory paperwork. Being a gaijin, its understood your meant to be exploited, and then leave. As far as being unemployed, that sucks, but cant you teach English? Im telling you dude, the pickings are slim over here, you better get all the skills you can get and while your getting them, you better work where you can. I got a feeling your being picky. This aint the states dude. Im good with trades, so that skill is always in demand because most japanese arent worth a shit at it or dont want to do it.
I got to add one more thing dude, and youll probally not even post it but I dont care. Being a black dude over here can be tough. I think if I was black this would be the last country I every would want to live in. Allot of these people that post here are all nice and fuzzy, but they dont know whats up over here. Its tough enough being a white dude, man I can only imagine being black. dude you better find your niche and study up, otherwise your dumbass will be another cotton picker here in the land of Japan. Yeah, you read right. Lots of them doing that shit, making carpets or picking vegetables (chinese and pakistani). Visit your local Hello work. They can hook you up real fast.
Thanks for sharing, Az. I've read every posting as you've posted them, and as many others have already said, your talent astounds me as usual. Keep writing. Once I have a career and an income, I'll make retroactive donations, promise! ;P
I dunno if it was your writing or the subject matter, but that was actually a very interesting story.
Every end has a beginning. Every beginning has an end. Good luck for the future Az! I'm expecting typing all that our now may be strangely cathartic...
Seriously, Az - go to the library, pick up a book on writing a non-fiction book proposal, take the time you have now on your plate to write it up, and then send it out. You have no excuse. And your savior - you! - is right under your nose. All you need is 1/2 hour to an hour a day. Make it your number one priority: First Things First: that is to say, after breakfast put butt in chair and work on proposal for 1/2 to 1 hour like it's your religion.
Scanning the want ads, etc. can be your project for the remainder of the afternoon. In other words, you should proceed on two parallel tracks: one short term (job search) and the other longer term (writing).
I know it's scary to actually start doing what you say you want to do. By doing so you have to face the possibility of failure and the often equally scary possibility of success. (The folks who crack like nuts after they get exactly what they want are legion.) But that's what living is: taking the chance. It's scary, but once you accept that it's going to be hard/scary then you can just shrug your shoulders and
Put. Butt. In. Chair.
Good luck, Captain!
Great story. I laughed, I cried, I loved. Now, we must all hear about how your parents faired on their first time in Japan! Culture shock and misadventure galore, we hope!
Stands on desk: Oh Captain, my captain!
..you do realize that you have to tell us about your folk's visit now, right?
I mean, Japan is expensive and you were relatively broke. How did you entertain them? Whore yourself out to 1000 fat chicks on the side? How did you manage to protect them from being the new gaijin freakshow? How did you protect them FROM the local freakshow? Did the parents meet? Did anyone violate the circle of trust/flush a cat down a toilet/ burn down a gazeebo? Did they bring you new pants and lifetime supply of heir-blocking American-sized condom? Did they skimp on the condoms and demand you to make them grandparents ASAP?
We already all up in ya business anyway, why not tell us more?
Hi Az,All these years reading your "adventures" this one is certainly something I would have never wished on you. I'm glad you're out of that place though. I wish you all the luck. I know it's hard being newly married and unemployed. Hang in there. Good days are ahead.
Oh and you're still young, so please start doing all those things you said you'd do..like..writing professionally..while you are between jobs! Live, Learn and make Mistakes while you're young.
Hugs and best wishes to you and your family,
April(New Orleans)
Wow! I think the word count on that epic exceeds the rest of your output for the past year. That's the Az I've been missing!
Thanks for sharing, good luck with your continuing adventures, and please, please keep writing.
You need to gtf outta Japan, bro. I'm telling you. I've just gone through your entire archives in the last 2 days and you seem to be getting progressivly more negative and seemingly unhappy. I realize this job was part of the problem, but from my point of view I think you should take your new bride to the States for a little bit. Work with a company on the US side that deals with Japan a lot, you could be a nice intermediary or translator or something. I mean you have a pretty nice skill set being fluent in both languages and all.
You seemed to be mulling it over anyway, brining the mrs. to the United States. I realize you wouldn't have as much to blog about (unless you worked with a company that dealt primarily with Nippon) but still man, if things are as bad as you've been making it appear mayhaps it's time to consider a drastic shift in the paradigm?
Remember, you've got the touch. You've got the power. Hell, even after this is all said and done? I'd say you never walked. You've never run. You're a winner.
Wow...just, wow...
I've been reading this with great interest since the start. I imagine your site has been getting tons of hits from it too! Simply great writing and a really engaging tale of hardship. I really, really hope that that company turns out to be the exception to the rule and you find your feet again soon.
Could I just ask one thing? What is the 'Central Labour Bureau' in Japanese? I figure it will come in handy when I get back out there myself. Thanks again!
Seriously, look into writing professionally. Like a blog for a magazine's website, or just writing for magazines in general. You have a way of grabbing and holding people's attention and being hilarious at the same time. You should really consider printing out a bunch of the posts on this blog and setting up interviews with magazines and newspapers and shit. I think you could have a career in writing.
Glad to see the paycheck incident resolved itself in the interim, without the need for a prolonged struggle. Adios, crappy old boss and crappy old company! Hello, freedom-heavily-circumscribed-by-not-having-any-food-or-rent-money! The trade-offs we all sometimes have to make to fight incompetent jackbooted fascist thug-bastards disguised as employers...
I'm nearly broke myself, so I can't send much, but I'm going to see if I can scrounge up a little bit to toss in the hat. On behalf of us all, the donors have wrung this epic tale of corruption, incompetence, and existential despair (?) from you, and I don't want to be riding on their backs for the next epic.
I was thinking.... are there any military bases near you? If so, I know the one I am stationed on is always in need of Japanese/English translators. The benefits are good and being an American might actually *gasp* you get a job in this case! It sounds like they are always busy but it sounds like you're no stranger to hard work. Maybe you should check it out!
Those are classy comments about cotton-picking, Mike.
I think Az is doing just fine in Japan even with the current financial strains. You know why? Because Japan gave birth to his very unique writing style and subject matter which could carry him deep into a very satisfying writing life. It also gave birth to his relationship with the woman who became his wife.
All in all that sounds pretty sweet to me.
It was so sweet of you to go ahead and make your wife's dream of her wedding day come true even though you were in a horrible predicament. I truly hope that the happiness in her eyes on your glorious day made putting up with all the other crap worthwhile. I bet you're her Knight in Shining Armor.
a similar exodus occurs at my former company (just recently quit because another company overseas gave me an offer). anyway, good luck on the new chapter of your life.
Hi Az.
As usual your writing is enjoyable to read, no matter the subject. You painted a delightfully painful and cruel image of your old company's management. So, to repeat my past posts: thank you for this good /long read.
And to second Stan (last post I've read): you've talked about it, now you actually have the time to work on it. Everyone reading you will agree that you DO have real writing skills. I'm not qualified to say if you have what it takes to write the next NY Times Best seller, but I sure hope you'll give it a try.
Keep your spirits up, you are on the right track, you just need to start the engine and get things rolling.
I was thinking the only reason they wanted for you to sign that paperwork was because if the project that you had worked on ever had problems in the future, then they could point directly to you saying that it was something that you had done that was the problem. I figure that you knew that already, but sometimes my mind works like an evil person and nice people just shouldn't have to think that way.
Az,
Thank you for making the effort to share this story with us. I hope that the people who enjoyed it and didn't donate anything will find it in their hearts (and wallets) to make a donation after hearing this story.
Happy baby making.
I don't know about the interview standards in Japan, but usually in the US and Europe there is some point in the interview process where you can ask things about the company. Usually this is some short rethoric question at the end of the interview process, where the recruiter thinks that anyone comes up with a made-up question.
This is the ideal chance to ask a very important question: "What is the fluctuation-rate" of this company?
It says so much about the company, the atmosphere at the workplace, how dynamic or new the company is etc.
Also you can guess from the reaction: Either it's really not a matter at all and really know one knows the figures and even the recruiter doesn't know exactly.
But if there is a problem with this, usually you can spot immediatley because of the reaction...
Sort of a good ending kinda pissed off he made off with your paycut for no reason. I hope the Jackhole gets ruined.
Good stuff though hope you get a job (and hope i get one also)
For some reason, I can picture you saying "Aww yeah. Gaijin SMASH." when you learned of the higher-ups giving the boss a talking to, with hard rock music starting to play in the background and cutting to end credits.
Please tell me that happened. :D
I missed commenting on the previous entry, but how do you deal with all that politeness stuff, anyhow? I mean, to figure out if anta or anata is less polite than omae or temae or kimi. Is there like a hierarchy somewhere? Because most of the answers I see are "it depends" which as you know, doesn't help at all. Hell, even Japanese people like to do a cop-out and go for [name]-san half the time, it seems. At least -san appears pretty safe, unless you're supposed to use -sama...
Or do you have to puzzle them all out by getting yelled at a few times?
Az,
seriously, you need to collect your blog entries, and publish them as a book. Look at Wil Wheaton - he did it, and now he's a professional writer. There is a market out there - we, your faithful readers! I know I would buy your book. And I would recommend it and give it as Christmas presents to people I know who enjoy reading. Well written, funny, poignant autobiographical stuff like this, about an every-day-dude in a bizarre situation is wonderful stuff. Even though our circumstances are different, and even though I'm a tiny white girl in Texas (rather than a large black man in Japan), I feel like you and I have something in common, simply because the way you write is so personable. There's a real quality to your blog entries, that I just know would translate well into book form. Please don't feel uncertain about your talent, because it's real, and it's GOOD! You have a real knack for story-telling, and you should profit from it by publishing! You've already done all the groundwork. Simply go through your stuff, and pick the most interesting blogs, clean them up a little bit, and between bits here and there, put in a little bit of new text, explaining stuff, or reminiscing, etc. I can see the title now:
"Gaijin Smash: An African American's adventures in Japan." Or something even better that you'd think up... :) YOU CAN DO IT, AZ! PLEASE DO IT, AZ! (And seriously, look up Wil Wheaton - I love his stuff, and it's not even quite as interesting as yours!!!)
HOORAY for Az! Glad its over. Great story, incredibly common theme. I think most of the over-21 working people out there who aren't named Lindsey Lohan (rehab is different ya'know!) have a similar experience in their lives at some point. Glad that you got out of it and it is all over with. Good luck finding a new job.
Cool stories, bro.
Honestly I think I'm reading too much manga. Somewhere along the story I was expecting Ms. Americanized and a bunch of Kancho assassins to appear and rescue you and whip that president's ass into shape, regardless of how amazingly unrealistic that is.
Have you heard of ms. americanized btw? she was my favorite for a looong time since I began reading "My kids are perverted".
Thanks for sharing though I'm sure re-telling this story is bound to have brought back some nasty memories and feelings. Been following your site for ages (first time posting) and have always looked forward to reading your entries and updates. Seeing the shit that you've had to put up with, it sure does cast some light on why the updates started drying up some time back.
I'd say you should try to cut a book deal with your compiled entries of the misadventures and musings you've had during your stay in Japan. Sure enough you'd get a whole lot more people sharing your opinion that you're eventually going to hell (Snuzzlebunnies ^.^ )but I'll be damned if you don't get a much bigger cult following than the one you already have here. Though of course the market you should start selling that in would be back in the US (I would pay good money to see what would happen if you tried launching it in Japan).
Glad to read your eventual triumph! Best of luck with the future, I hope you find something good very soon.
Oh, and friendly, helpful Japanese bureaucrat lady FTW. It's a shame sometimes when they can't accept gifts because she sounds like someone who deserves a little something extra.
First comment guy... awesome.
I'm glad you actually got that paycheck and I love that you got the pres caught in his own lies. Even though you didn't get the pay back from it, just knowing he got chewed out was probably an awesome feeling. Thanks for telling the story btw. You know, I've kinda decided to keep a "blog" like thing for my stays in japan, though I doubt mine will be as well written.
Az, after reading your entire story, I have decided to help your cause. I experienced a similar problem with an employer when I was 16, so I know exactly what you went through (without having a wedding and living on my own...that and instead of a Japanese boss, I had a hispanic boss). That being said, I plan to send a donation (won't be much...) and I'll keep an eye out for any job openings in Japan (I'll search for Tokyo since I'm not sure where exactly your area is). I hope everything goes well!
Apply to the parent company. Become your former boss' boss!
Thank you for sharing your experiences! I hope you'll be able to find work in an environment with a sane, reasonable boss soon :) It's really sad to read about such ridiculous self-centered people in the world. I'm glad you've taken this experience with an optimistic outlook though!
頑張ってください！
Hey there. Followed your sour apples story with interest. I made a similar experience in the company where I had my apprenticeship. Similar to you, we started out fairly well till the plans and pipe dreams of our CEO got out of hand. He reeled in more and more orders but didn't employ more staff to actually do them. So we were "asked" to work overtime and weekends. And then the paychecks came later and later while we still had to do overtime. (AND while he started investing money in different projects, too!) And god help you if you were not on time starting work in the morning.
Well, as you I opted to leave the company and as I have heard, so did most of the other staff working with me. CEOs going haywire... I'd guess that's one of the problems that cause our actual crisises, too.
Did you ever consider to try and start up an own little translating buisness? Offering your translation skills for a fee per document to small and middle buisinesses that can't afford to employ their own english division but want something in english. I don't know how that would work out over there in Japan (since it seems competition from other "freelanceers" is big), but here in Germany I know of some people who did this and are able to support themselves. The pay seems not that great but they have the advantage of working at home. I'd guess that would be nice once little Azrael or little Azraella runs around. Just an idea though.
Dang, it sucks that you haven't been able to find something! Looks like you'll have to get really creative or see if you can go back to teaching like one of the other posters mentioned.
I'm glad you eventually received your paycheck!
Yes, we must hear about your parents first trip to Japan!!!!! WE MUST!
It's good to know the whole story, even if it's a crappy one. I also think you could make some good money writing a book. Maybe two books. One is your life in Japan, and one is a kind of primer for those coming over to work or live in Japan from the States. I think both would do well.
And if you want certain people, "dealt with" I have reasonable rates![/assassin]
Hi Az,
I read all your "I am a Japanese schoolteacher" stories since Outpostnine, and though I did send smaller donations before, to thank you for entertaining me all this time and to hopefully help you out, I sent you a bigger one (not bragging or anything, I'm in no financial difficulty so it's not a big sacrifice). I hope it comes in handy, because Cthulhu knows you don't deserve all that crap and need a break. And while the boss in your story seems like a grade-A mega asshole to *everybody*, he seemed especially worse on you. He clearly tried to exploit you even more due to your being foreign (and, he surely hoped, intimidated or ignorant of the law), and probably hoped you'd let it go and wouldn't bother checking with the Labour Bureau. I hope he gets cancer, and that his manhood rots and gets fed to the goats!
I can somewhat sympathize with your getting shafted of a paycheck. A few years ago, at my very first job out of school (first job ever, too), I started programming for a small telecommunications company. After a few months, though, pays were coming in late and it was obvious the company was struggling financially. A lot of people got badly ripped off in the aftermath, some far worse than me. When I finally quit, I hadn't taken any vacation, and was supposed to have them paid to me (roughly one grand in $CAD). I never got them to this day (I left that place in September 2004). The labour bureaus sent angry letters, but the president probably showed him to his lawyer, laughed out loud and threw them to the garbage, so all the bureau could do was to shrug and say, "you're on your own. hire a bailiff or sue him." . I didn't want to take this to court and didn't need the money too badly, so I pretty much gave up, but I wonder about other co-workers, who weren't doing so well financially (had children or cars or houses to pay, for example) and who lost even more money than me - actual paychecks that bounced. Not fun.
What's worse is that the T4, the tax receipt we use to do our income tax, was fraudulent and said I had only earned about $7k in the whole year, which was of course ridiculous since I had worked full-time close to nine months in that year. If I declared that amount, I would have gotten a bigger return but I knew it was false, so I had to estimate the real amount and joined a letter of explanation in my declaration, as well as some check stubs proving I had worked there for several months. I know the government had opened an investigation (some lady contacted me for more information) but I don't really know what became of it. I can only hope that asshole got busted big time (somehow, I doubt it - we're too soft on crooks here).
Anyway, I hope you'll get better soon (I second all suggestions to publish a book, you have the time to write and prepare while you're looking for a job, though of course it's not that easy but in your case I'd say it's worth a try), and, like others, that you'll keep writing about your life in Japan. Yours is one of the only blog I read pretty much religiously (RSS feeds FTW).
Cheers and good luck with everything.
AZ, did you read the second to last post on Philalawyer's blog, the one from the investment banker who got his money and walked away? If not read it, if you have then you know that sometime's you have to get out without the "fuck you" money,but in doing so you keep your sanity,your dignity, and self-respect. You will get through this, neither you nor your new wife is ill, your wedding is done,the rest of that shit is just small potato's. Bro, you could be so, so, so far worse off than not having a job you hate, life may have you a little down, but damn man you got out before they got over on you, that is definitly worth more than money. FUCK IT and FUCK THE COMPANY!!!
Now, moving on! You got bills, so be it, you're gonna have bills til the day, you die, they'll wait or they won't, again F@#k 'em. The rest will work itself out in time, so in the mean time, get yourself healthy (mentally and physically) and get back in the fight. Good luck in the job hunt, I hear it's bare knuckles nasty in the job market there right now!
I feel for you, Az! I'd love to donate to your cause but I'm behind on my bills as well. Thanks for sharing your stories and I hope you write a book soon! I'd love to read it.
Maybe you have enough hard evidence about the work ethics of your ex-job to coerce the parent company to give you a position in one of their subsidiaries?