Workplace reviews and discussion: 劉培森建築師事務所

‧The company premises are spacious and very clean, and the restrooms are also very clean.

‧There is a library that is periodically updated with architecture books.

‧Lectures are held periodically, with speakers invited from various fields.

‧There are dedicated IT staff to handle computer issues, and all software used is properly licensed.

‧Several colleagues specialize in particular fields and are exceptionally skilled. If you have the opportunity to work with them, there is a lot you can learn.

‧The leave and overtime systems are comprehensive. If you are late, you can take leave without being scolded. Even if you take too long to eat dinner while working overtime at night, that time is counted and paid, and overtime pay is provided in accordance with the Labor Standards Act.

‧The supervisors are not the type to put intense pressure on you, so the psychological pressure at work is much lower than at other firms.

‧The boss is a passionate architect. Even at his age, he still works very hard, and compared with other architects in the industry, his temper is actually quite good.

‧The boss only reviews drawings at night, and there is a fixed group of people who stay with him until the early morning every day, so working excessive hours is the norm. If you want to work here, try to avoid becoming part of the regular meeting group. If you keep attending evening meetings with him for a whole week, you should pay extra attention; most people leave because of this. When the boss works on designs, there must be someone who knows 3D modeling beside him so that he can slowly sculpt the model. Meetings about model revisions are usually scheduled last, by which time the meeting start time has already exceeded the statutory daily working-hour limit, and each meeting lasts several hours. The design style is rather old-fashioned, so designers who enjoy creating aesthetically pleasing designs may want to consider this carefully.

‧The company is highly bureaucratic, much like working in the civil service. When you need assistance from another department, you may end up waiting half a year for the requested changes even after repeatedly following up. Designers may find themselves unable to respond to clients, contractors, or consultants, while also being blocked by supervisors when dealing with the boss. You may have no idea where a project stands, when drawings are due, or what drawings are needed. Even when working on the same project, you may not know what your colleagues are currently doing; a certain amount of psychic ability is required.

‧Perhaps because the company has been unable to recruit enough people, some employees who do not even understand basic drawings or terminology have stayed on. A few senior employees receive high salaries but have little productivity, while those with some ability who are not good at avoiding trouble are soon worked to the point of burnout and leave.

‧Design revisions are made without regard for the project schedule. Various permits may be due the next day, yet the external references are somehow different from yesterday again, and the drawings never match up. There are no drafting standards: the layers and line weights differ from project to project, and no one performs a final comprehensive check before submission.

‧Employees earning over NT$40,000 can only take compensatory leave and cannot receive overtime pay. Some people have had hundreds of hours of annual leave and compensatory leave disappear directly at the end of the year, without receiving a larger year-end bonus that year—quite something. Being late or failing to clock in results in a deduction from the year-end bonus; some people have had their bonus deducted into negative territory, which is outrageous. Some people were told they would receive a raise after completing their probationary period, but the raise was delayed for several months.

‧The boss clearly favors some people over others. Those he dislikes may be pressured to leave through various means, while at a lesser level he will show impatience toward them throughout meetings. Those he likes receive better promotions and year-end bonuses, are treated more politely, and have their opinions listened to more readily.

‧The boss is pro-China and supports unification under China. Most speakers invited are people connected through the KMT's patronage networks or Chinese nationals. Taiwan has been placed inside a map of China and used as the key visual for a lecture poster, and he keeps insisting on incorporating the KMT's big blue wheel symbol into architectural designs.

‧The bidet toilet nozzles are never cleaned. If you do not believe this, you can activate one and inspect it yourself; use is not recommended. The office desk lights break, and even after being reported, they are not repaired for a year.

‧You can only enter the library to look for books if you have a good relationship with the librarian. People they are unfamiliar with are kicked out, so basically no one goes in to look for books.

‧When a computer encounters an uncommon problem, IT tells you to figure it out yourself, but the computer software is all tied to specific configurations, making it difficult to handle on your own.

‧Run for your life.