Workplace reviews and discussion: 南一書局企業股份有限公司

Paychecks are paid on time, and office staff get public holidays off.

At the time, I worked in the Digital Development Department, a department that seemed forward-looking and full of prospects. However, what usually makes a job exhausting is not the work itself but the people. Colleagues came and went, but the supervisor held a long-term position. Having a manager who cannot communicate with others is basically enough to leave you physically and mentally exhausted.

When I was there, there was a female supervisor who was not very tall, had small eyes, and fair skin. If you join the company and the department head happens to have the surname Lin and matches the physical characteristics described above, that will be the starting point of a life-changing ordeal.

When instructions are unclear, if what you do does not meet her expectations, the only outcome is to be humiliated. The way to make your days slightly easier is to flatter her more frequently. The supervisor has a poor memory, but if she misunderstands you because of her own memory, she will still throw a tantrum. If you explain it to her afterward, she will only respond with an “oh” or “mm” attitude. The same thing will happen again later.

Sometimes you may wonder whether you are working for a supervisor or serving a queen with princess syndrome.

(During interviews, they should probably screen out overly outspoken people. I found that the colleagues in this department all shared the trait of being easy to get along with. Yet these strengths in dealing with people and conducting oneself in life can make you doubt whether they are actually weaknesses in a toxic workplace, because soft ground is usually destined to be dug into more deeply.)

There is nothing particularly wrong with the company itself, but you need to join the right department. This department has a very high employee turnover rate, but it may be a family business, and the standards it applies to managers are difficult to evaluate by the standards of ordinary companies. All I can say is: if you are thinking of working under that supervisor, think carefully.