None at all

I’d like to share a recent nightmare.

I dreamed that when I had just joined the company, I saw that 104 listed “monthly salary of NT$35,000 or more.” I was also interested in the job duties, so I applied.

After the interview, the boss offered me the job but said, “During the probationary period, we’ll start you at under NT$35,000.”

I reminded him, “Wasn’t the amount listed on 104 higher?”

He immediately said, “Then let’s not sign the contract.”

He walked back to the office and tore up the offer letter. The noise was loud enough for the colleagues outside to hear.

Later, he changed his wording: “Fine, then we’ll adjust it somewhat. We’ll make up the difference after you pass probation.”

I thought the job duties were fairly good, so I decided to start anyway.

They did make up the difference later, but only enough to “just meet the minimum threshold.”

After I passed probation, I only received an email saying, “Congratulations on passing. Your salary has been adjusted to NT$XXX.”

There was no discussion and no advance notice. I was genuinely stunned when I saw the number.

When I tried to negotiate for reasonable compensation, all I got were empty promises.

A colleague at the managerial level was very obedient to the boss and said, “The boss is really nice. He previously gave me an extra NT$5,000 or so.”

But the other senior colleagues only complained…

(The boss really was unusually good to that person—maybe because they were obedient? The boss also had them carry out unreasonable treatment of other employees.)

Unreasonable practices and concerns

1️⃣ The resources and names of two companies were mixed together

Companies A and B were used interchangeably on paper. Colleagues were enrolled in labor insurance under Company B but actually handled business for Company A.

Only after Company B was shut down were we informed that we had to transfer our employment registration to Company A—and they took the opportunity to cut our salaries.

The boss even said, “Isn’t it true that I pay you a salary?”

Isn’t paying salaries simply what an employer is supposed to do?

2️⃣ Gray-area tax practices

For group meals, employees were required to report the expense as personal income, while the receipts were issued using the company’s tax ID number.

When I asked why, another obedient (?) colleague replied, “Otherwise, pay for it yourself.” I was even called petty for asking.

I could simply have chosen not to eat. ==

3️⃣ Underreporting the labor insurance salary bracket

After I raised the issue, I was emotionally blackmailed: “This money would have to be deducted from HR. Would you dare take that kind of money?”

But I only had questions and wanted to ask HR, because HR is more professional in this area.

And if I hadn’t proactively raised the issue, would the company have simply pretended that nothing had happened?

They even demanded that I read out the regulations clause by clause, in an agitated tone.

Workplace culture and PUA

• “Motivational letters” were actually pressure letters.

• Employees who took leave were mocked with comments like, “There are hardly any working days” (although October naturally has many national holidays).

• Asking for a salary increase got me labeled “ungrateful” and “not a team player.”

• Asking for a raise got me called “stupid.”

• Even though my performance was good, I was told, “You’re just lucky,” and threatened with, “If you can’t do it, we’ll cut your fixed salary.”

Business ethics?

When I found a candidate, the boss would simply take them away by saying, “I contacted them before too.”

Candidates I found myself through LinkedIn were also “taken over.”

The biggest competitor in this company wasn’t anyone else—it was the boss himself.

How clients were treated:

After only a few minutes of a call, he would start asking which school the other person attended, comparing them with his own children, and saying things like he had bought a car for his child because the child attended school farther away. He even called the client “little junior.” 😩

As a consultant, shouldn’t he have provided professional advice instead of making clients listen to his personal gossip?

Discriminatory remarks during the interview

One of the reasons I was hired was apparently that I had a “normal family” and “no financial pressure.”

I was also asked where my parents worked.

When introducing me to everyone, he even volunteered where my parents worked.

What exactly does “normal family” mean? Are single-parent families or families under financial strain considered abnormal?

Or did he think that because I had no financial pressure, he could offer me a low salary?

Attacks after I resigned

After I resigned, I was initially very happy, and the handover between both sides was amicable.

Unexpectedly, that managerial-level colleague—the one who was more obedient to the boss—brainwashed the employees who were still there: “The boss did nothing wrong. Employee turnover isn’t his problem.”

They said that within just a few weeks of joining, I had “voluntarily” told them that I wanted to leave. But at the time, I had clearly only been trying to negotiate a raise. You left work at 5:30 p.m.; I left at 6:00 p.m. You stopped me after work and spent half an hour brainwashing me…

They spread rumors that I had a “huge drop-off after passing probation,” was “not proactive,” and “didn’t respond to messages”—but I was on leave during those days.

Besides, the candidate’s attitude was genuinely terrible. The candidate didn’t respond to me, so there was nothing I could do to provide an answer.

While I was on leave, they took my candidate and used them themselves.

If they had just said something at the time, I definitely would have handed the candidate over!

Within only a few months, four or five colleagues resigned,

while the entire company had only a dozen or so employees.

When retention efforts failed, they started defaming people. It really showed me what they were like.

Some companies fail not because they lack talent, but because they lack sincerity.

This experience made me even more certain:

When choosing a company, its systems matter more than its salary, and respect is rarer than sweet talk.

I hope those who come after me can avoid taking this kind of detour.