Exploitation

That senior employee with a refined appearance and perpetually immaculate hairstyle looks calm and reliable, but is actually both the referee and scorekeeper of the entire game. He holds life-or-death power over announcements and whether online payments are approved; who bears the blame and who gets promoted all depend on his mood that day. He often says the system needs flexibility. Translated, that means: rules are like German sausage—the way they are sliced is up to him.

The silent type with glasses and a gloomy gaze is like a venomous snake coiled among piles of documents. His specialty is leaving ambiguous gaps in contracts and online interview procedures, allowing newcomers to naturally slide into traps when they make mistakes and become perfect scapegoats. More ironically, the victims often still thank him, grateful that he “helped revise the documents.”

The old hand with a slight belly and a slick smile constantly says, “We’re a family.” He pulls newcomers into projects he knows cannot be saved and demands overnight demos, like being forced to eat three plates of tear-inducingly spicy pad krapow on a street in Thailand at midnight. When the project explodes, he merely pats his chest and says he has also worked very hard, then rolls the blame toward the entire team like a bowling ball, with pinpoint accuracy.

The tall, thin man who is always looking down is the quietest yet most lethal presence in the meeting room. He never uses harsh words; a single “additional comment” from him can get thoughts of resigning labeled as an “attitude problem.” In private, he reminds supervisors: this person is unstable; hold off on the promotion for now. As he watches others fall into pits, an almost imperceptible smile appears at the corner of his mouth.

As for that woman, after the company came under investigation, she suddenly “disappeared.” Messages are read but unanswered, meetings are taken off, and her office seat sits empty, as if she had flown to an island for a mindfulness retreat.

In the past, she was best at wrapping cold policies in a gentle tone. She often said, “It’s just procedure,” or “It’ll be faster if you sign here,” guiding employees into signing documents for voluntary resignation or salary adjustments. In reality, she was laying out a bowling lane for the company to evade responsibility. She once announced 🏆 high-performing employees in the group chat, yet never mentioned those who had been exploited to the point of being hospitalized. Now that an investigation has arrived, she has chosen to hide, leaving everyone else to face it on their own.