Workplace reviews and discussion: 台灣醒報股份有限公司

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1. The president’s religious and political positions are very pronounced, and news that conflicts with her values cannot be reported.

2. There is excessive editing; journalists seeking freedom should definitely not apply.

3. Working hours exceed 12 hours, but clocking in and out is strictly enforced. On paper, everyone appears to arrive and leave work on time.

4. Every morning begins with a lengthy, pointless meeting, and no one can go out to cover news until it ends.

5. There is no customer service, and the president’s customer-service professionalism is very poor.

6. Everything consists of cut-and-paste news, including contributed articles, for unknown reasons.

7. Readers’ submissions all undergo extensive editing.

8. Even editorials and exclusive interviews are consistently assigned to the same few people, who usually share the president’s values. The quality of the newspaper is simply insufficient for it to be regarded as a media outlet.

9. The supplements are also assembled through cut-and-paste work.

10. The film companies they collaborate with have difficulty providing materials. Because of the nature of a film and the style of its poster, they may be required to specially design a version for Awake News. The president says readers will complain if a poster shows a bare back, but this is really just the result of the president’s lack of artistic sensibility and religious values—she feels uncomfortable when she sees women’s bodies.

11. The president has a terrible temper and engages in personal attacks, almost to the point of becoming physically aggressive. However, she excuses herself by saying that she is under a lot of pressure and asks employees to be understanding, showing no remorse whatsoever.

12. The president’s standards and ability for selecting news are completely out of step with the times.

13. Because the company purchases access to the Central News Agency’s image library, journalists are verbally encouraged to take good photos, but around 80% of them will be replaced with photos from the Central News Agency or even CC0 images.

14. There is no overtime pay, only compensatory time off the next day.

15. The president takes an excessive interest in employees’ private romantic situations and also has a habit of randomly pairing certain employees together.

16. It is not apparent on the surface, but the president is actually homophobic.

17. During working hours, employees have to constantly endure the president’s repeated burping, farting, and coughing up phlegm. It is obvious that she has gastrointestinal problems, but she completely refuses to see a doctor.

18. Employees who request reasonable benefits or termination of their contracts will be called in for a meeting. If they still refuse to be exploited after the meeting, they will be immediately fired, without severance pay, and will also be required to sign a voluntary resignation letter.

19. Documents are falsified to facilitate inspections by the labor authorities.

20. Journalists seeking full-time positions may be kept at the intern level indefinitely. The pay may be negligible, but the workload is that of a full-time journalist.

21. Turnover is extremely high among both graphic designers and journalists. They often have to rush to meet deadlines while training newcomers and even helping the president conduct interviews, because there are no other managerial positions besides the president and chairperson.

22. There are rules governing how long employees may use the restroom and how much toilet paper they may use.

23. Eating while working is routine, and sacrificing meals is even more common.

24. The hardware is outdated and often affects work progress, but this is not considered a valid reason for missing a deadline; employees are expected to find a way to catch up on their own.

25. One graphic designer was also required to work as a copy editor and help the president revise drafts. They would be scolded if the revisions were not good enough, despite being paid less than journalists.

26. At the year-end banquet, every employee is required to perform to entertain the president and chairperson. Prizes won in the raffle and year-end bonus envelopes come with a stipulation that employees cannot resign for a specified period before they may use them.

27. The president claims to have a cleanliness obsession, but it is just talk. Her personal hygiene habits are terrible: her desk is dirty and cluttered, her cup is rarely washed, she drops crumbs while eating, and spills soup and drinks everywhere. However, employees are harshly scolded if they accidentally make anything dirty.

28. The president takes items from employees’ desks without permission and then throws them somewhere, making them very difficult to find again.

29. There is no room to work if you put your bag on the desk; if you put it on a chair, the president may sit on it and crush it; and if you put it on the floor, the president may step on it.

30. The president teaches part-time at nearby schools, and students may be lured into internships. Not a single one has failed to regret it.

31. The president believes that poor efficiency is due to employees’ lack of ability, and has nothing to do with her poor management, which causes employees to spend half the day doing pointless work.