Workplace reviews and discussion: 華樂絲語文顧問有限公司

1. The company is very quiet: like a library, because the boss dislikes noise, so colleagues cannot chat or communicate with one another. People who like quiet environments would be a good fit.

2. To apply for overtime pay, the request must be submitted four hours before the overtime begins, and it can only be processed after approval from a supervisor. It seems the company is very confident in its ability to control workloads—there probably won't be any overtime, right?

3. Close to Taipei Main Station, with many plumbing, electrical, and hardware supply stores near the office, making home repairs convenient.

1. No year-end bonus: There are only monthly bonuses, paid quarterly. Salary adjustments depend on the boss's mood. Regardless of performance, even when the company makes money, employees do not get a share. A fake foreign company with a real old-school boss—don't assume it's genuinely foreign just because there are many foreigners at the company.

2. Disrespect for professional expertise: The boss often reads one book and then assumes he understands a particular profession, interfering with the execution of professional work and interpreting performance based on his “feelings.” The work he feels is important or wants done always takes priority. Even if you do other, more important tasks well, you will still be criticized or suspected of having done nothing.

3. Treats employees as tools: Employees are given extremely little consideration. Apart from NT$1,000 in bonuses for the three major holidays, there are virtually no benefits. Employees are even frequently dismissed without warning on the same day. As a result, employee turnover is high. Once, the building was disinfected without the company being notified, and some employees went to work. Everyone was so overwhelmed by the disinfectant fumes that they could not bear it. After learning about it, the boss—who had not gone to the office that day—ordered everyone not to leave until he arrived on-site and made a judgment. One of the employees was pregnant! Employees were treated as if they were worthless.

4. The boss has an extremely strong need for control: If he sees an employee away from their desk, taking a break, or eating, he will question them. He also requires employees to write daily work logs so that he can keep track of their every move.

5. The boss is prone to anxiety and likes to lie: If performance is low for just one or two days, he will say that the company has not made any money all month and begin questioning the efforts of each department. He often exaggerates matters or distorts and fabricates what was discussed with employees.

6. Communication barriers: The boss is a foreigner who has lived in Taiwan for fourteen years but cannot speak Chinese. Whether or not this is due to a language barrier, he often does not remember things or remembers things that never happened. Communication is very difficult.

7. Office politics and passing the buck: The boss's wife likes to stab employees in the back, speaking ill of them directly to the boss instead of communicating with the employees first. She often plays both sides and undermines trust among employees. In addition, whenever there is a decision to be made, the boss and his wife frequently pass the buck back and forth, leaving employees to take responsibility.

8. A record of violating labor laws: There have been reports of the company dismissing employees without paying severance and altering the stated reasons on employees' separation certificates.

9. Arbitrary reassignment of positions: You may be recruited under the title of A but end up doing B's work, or even C's as well. However, your salary remains at the original level for A, regardless of whether you know how to do B or C. You may also be inexplicably promoted to manager, with no raise but more responsibilities, without anyone asking whether you are willing.