An eye-opening experience

Not recommended. Absolutely not recommended! Don't be fooled by what appears to be a high salary—after deducting the unpaid overtime you give the company, you'd be better off working for a Taiwanese company. At least the work culture is more relaxed, and they wouldn't make absurd claims like “personal learning doesn't count as overtime.”

1. New employees spend one or two hours writing journals, but this time is not paid as overtime because it is considered “personal learning.” Although the official end of the workday is 4 p.m., almost everyone leaves at 5 or 6.

2. Even though employees are already working overtime for free, supervisors still assign “homework” for subordinates to do at home. If you don't “study” at home, you'll be scolded the next day.

3. All of the above is classified as “personal learning.” Several senior employees within the company agree that “personal learning does not count as overtime” because it “cannot bring the company tangible numerical benefits.”

I can't believe that in Taipei today, there are still companies like this. It is even a consulting firm that claims to provide consulting services to Japanese companies in Taiwan. It has been in business for over 20 years, yet it has never realized that its company policies are illegal.

Not paying overtime, arbitrarily defining what “doesn't count as overtime”—this is illegal both in Japan and Taiwan, and it also violates basic common sense.

I've only ever seen people specify what counts as overtime; I've never seen anyone specify what doesn't count as overtime. This company truly opened my eyes.