Workplace reviews and discussion: 東志企業股份有限公司

1. Year-end bonuses (senior employees receive very large year-end bonuses~~starting at several months’ salary)—but the prerequisite is that you actually receive one or endure working there for more than ten years.

2. During the years I was there, there were salary increases—varying from NT$1,000 to NT$3,000 per year—but since I have already left, I don’t know whether salaries will continue to be adjusted every year.

3. High-end travel—employees may bring their husband or wife + children.

4. Frequent afternoon tea (coffee or drinks).

5. The company also holds prize drawings.

6. No need to clock in or out.

7. Very systematic.

8. Business is extremely good—there is absolutely no need to develop new customers; you only need to maintain existing customers.

9. No performance pressure.

10. Regular company dinners.

11. Gifts.

12. After working here, everywhere else will feel very relaxed, happy, and free—this is also an advantage.

(I have already left, and the outside world really is much freer and more relaxed.)

1. No overtime pay—senior colleagues do not leave even after working hours, which creates invisible pressure to stay late rather than leave on time.

2. A strong sense of authority + a highly centralized company.

3. Instructions from the boss and the junior boss must be followed exactly as they intend—having your own ideas is absolutely not allowed.

4. Every email must be printed out and then answered according to the boss’s instructions (you must reply exactly according to his wishes).

5. A company whose attitude changes faster than you can turn a page: when business is good, the company treats employees one way; when business is bad, it treats them another way. For example, because of the pandemic, the company unilaterally announced a 10% salary reduction for the four-month period from May through August 2020. It is understandable that the company wanted to reduce salaries because of the pandemic. But shouldn’t reduced pay also mean reduced working hours?! Why did everyone still have to work normal hours every day during the pay-cut period? Alternatively, since senior colleagues had worked there for more than ten years, if salaries were to be reduced, shouldn’t they have been asked to use up their annual leave to offset the reduction? But the company did not do that. It cut salaries directly without negotiating with employees at all. It was truly disrespectful to employees—everything depended entirely on the boss’s mood.

6. Almost none of the senior colleagues take leave (unused leave is not converted into money for employees either, so the culture of not taking leave is hard to understand)—although taking leave does not result in a pay deduction, taking leave creates invisible pressure. Because leave is paid, colleagues who do not take leave feel that it is unfair. Previously, a new employee was even called in for a meeting because they took leave too often.

7. The interpersonal relationships inside seem complicated—calm on the surface, but turbulent underneath.

8. If you are called in for a meeting by a senior manager, the senior manager will always say, “A lot of people have reported this.” In reality, the “many people” they mention each time are just a few specific senior employees. One colleague was called in for taking too much leave, and another for not sweeping carefully enough; both were reported by self-righteous senior employees. It is understandable that someone might be called in for taking too much leave or not sweeping carefully enough! But the senior manager’s insistence on using “a lot of people have reported this” as the basis for these meetings is highly questionable—it causes colleagues to doubt and distrust one another.

9. The boss does fire people, so I feel there is quite little job security—for example, I heard that someone in sales was fired for quoting a price incorrectly, or for poor performance, etc. The exact reasons are unclear, but in any case, people do get fired.

10. Senior colleagues are all very good with words (people who know how to please the boss are highly valued).

11. When the factory is too busy, you sometimes have to help at the factory for an entire day—it is extremely exhausting.

12. The boss once told a newly hired employee: “Everyone starts at NT$33,000.” (Regardless of the person or their experience.) But this is not actually true. Every month, each employee has to take cash to HR to pay their labor and health insurance premiums. The paper lists the amount each colleague has to pay, and from that amount you can determine the insured salary bracket and estimate their approximate salary.

13. Handling cases for major customers is very unlucky—major customers often want to contact the boss or junior boss at the drop of a hat. Not only do you have to report to both sides, but naturally they also pay very close attention to emails from major customers. If there is even the slightest error in a quotation, or if the boss’s intentions are not clearly expressed in an email, the boss can tell from the customer’s reply where you wrote or did something wrong—and you will be loudly berated in front of all the employees. (Of course, being scolded for making a mistake is normal, and we would accept criticism humbly.) But sometimes, is a minor mistake really worth forcing you to endure that kind of verbal abuse?

a. An employee once went to report to the junior boss. At the time, the junior boss said, “F***, this product should be done this way,” or “F***, this should be done that way.” Perhaps, to him, “F***” was just a filler word at the time, but it genuinely felt very inappropriate. (Can’t you just speak properly? Don’t you know how to respect employees?)

b. An employee once transferred a customer’s call to the senior boss first (the employee had asked the senior boss beforehand whether he wanted the call screened; the senior boss said it was fine and that the junior boss could simply take the call). After lunch, the junior boss loudly roared, shouted, and cursed furiously in the office (he could not accept the employee transferring the customer’s call directly to him)—and humiliated the employee in front of the entire office, showing no consideration for their dignity.

Perhaps the employee really did mishandle the situation—but was the mistake truly worth making the employee endure such shouting and screaming? Even if his reasoning was correct, that does not mean he could take it for granted that he had the right to lecture the employee in that way. This is a form of psychological attack. Even if what he said was true, that still cannot be used to justify or rationalize attacking an employee.

14. “The capable do more” is a bad practice here. If you are capable, you will simply keep being assigned more work and cases. The sales manager does not dare let less capable salespeople handle difficult customers; they are only given simple cases. The sales manager will even redistribute cases away from less capable salespeople and give them to more capable employees. (Doesn’t that turn being less capable into a kind of benefit?) They will also tell capable salespeople to help less capable salespeople process orders. That is why I came to realize: why did I force myself every day to finish everything the same day? Oh~ so people with less ability can handle low-pressure cases at the company. Oh~ so when you are less capable, your supervisor will cover for you in all kinds of ways. Oh~ so being less capable is actually a benefit~~