Workplace reviews and discussion: 川流資訊股份有限公司

So awful it’s unforgettable

This was a company I interviewed with many years ago, yet the experience remains unforgettable to this day. It was one of the worst companies I’ve ever encountered. I had just graduated and, having no relevant experience, had sent out many résumés without receiving any replies. I had also spent a long time preparing for this interview invitation. When I went in for the interview, the boss immediately started berating me, saying, “I’ve seen plenty of fresh graduates like you—strawberry types!” “You quit whenever you feel like it. You’re not going to be like that too, are you?” “So what if you graduated from a national university? You still came out to look for a job, to be an employee of successful people like us.” These words remain deeply engraved in my mind. After saying all that, he simply told me to come to work the next day. I had originally wanted to take a few days to consider it, but he berated me again, saying, “Opportunities wait for no one. Young people like you keep missing out on good opportunities.” At the time, stubbornly determined to prove I wasn’t a “strawberry type,” I forced myself to go in and lasted two days. It was the first—and only—time in my life that I quit after working for just two days.

On my first day, I was told that the official working hours were 9:00–18:00, but I had to arrive before 8:30.

I arrived before 8:30, but no one was in the office. I stood outside waiting, and someone finally came to unlock the door just before 9:00. After I went in, they left me sitting on a guest chair to the side while everyone else started working on their own.

So I just sat there awkwardly. Someone asked why I was sitting there, but I didn’t have a computer or a workstation, so I kept sitting there until almost 11:00, when they finally gave me a computer. As soon as I received it, the boss called me in for a talk and told me to work hard and not be a useless “strawberry,” among other things. Afterward, he started assigning me work. When I actually began working, I discovered that, as web designers, the graphics software they provided was the CS3 version, which didn’t even have keyboard shortcuts. At that time, the software available on the market was already the CC version....

Because the version was so outdated, many functions and shortcuts couldn’t be used. My efficiency therefore failed to meet the boss’s expectations, so at noon he stood behind me and scolded me, saying, “At your speed, other people could have done so much more. Your efficiency is really terrible!”

As an aside: The company’s coworkers had very little sense of camaraderie. At lunchtime, everyone ordered boxed meals. Not only did they not order one for the new employee, but they all disappeared at lunchtime, and a coworker even told me to help pick up their boxed meals. After delivering everyone else’s meals, I had to go out and buy my own lunch.

For the rest of the afternoon, the boss either called me into the office to berate me or stood behind my workstation and berated me. The boss mentioned that he really liked people who flattered him. He believed that, after entering the workforce, one had to learn how to flatter others. He criticized me for being quiet and not knowing how to flatter him, and said that having a high level of education was completely useless.

At 18:00, the official end of the workday, the boss was still standing behind me, staring at my computer work, and said, “You’re not leaving until you finish all of this for me!”

Second day at work

Because one floor of the office building was used for health examinations, the elevator was packed with people that morning. As a result, I clocked in at exactly 08:30. The boss called me in and berated me, saying, “You’re late on your second day. What the hell is this?” He demanded that I give him a reason. I asked him, “Isn’t the official start time nine o’clock? Does arriving half an hour early count as being late?” The boss completely exploded and began loudly cursing, saying that young people nowadays were truly useless and couldn’t endure hardship. He then asked, “If there are so many people in the elevators downstairs, couldn’t you take the stairs?” (The office was on the ninth floor.) He continued berating me until almost noon before finally letting me leave. By then, I was already at my breaking point, so I quit on the spot, bringing to an end the worst and most absurd work experience of my life.