樺霖有限公司

This was my former company, where I worked for roughly three years. The colleagues in the design department were all very helpful in resolving questions, and the supervisors were quite good as well. If a project got stuck, whether within the same group or department, the supervisor would coordinate with available colleagues to provide support. Once, while on my way to work, I got into a minor car accident because I was rushing to clock in by 9:10 for a NT$2,000 perfect-attendance bonus. Unexpectedly, the boss’s wife, who usually seemed strict, canceled the clock-in system because of this and directly incorporated the perfect-attendance bonus into everyone’s monthly salary! During my recovery, the company also paid me my full salary and told me to focus on getting well, which really surprised me. However, sometimes the way she spoke was really [expletive]. Although I left my former company two years ago because of my personal career plans, I am still very grateful for the help and guidance my former supervisor and colleagues gave me at work. Although this company could be busy and require overtime, I was able to learn about and gain experience with many new technologies and techniques from all kinds of projects, building up a substantial portfolio. This allowed me to negotiate good salaries at the companies I interviewed with afterward. I heard that several designers there left and later returned on their own, probably because they felt that the company’s system, benefits, and work content were genuinely good compared with others in the industry. Otherwise, as everyone says, if it is really so demanding and exhausting, why would anyone want to go back?

What could be improved? Probably reducing overtime! But worldwide, there probably isn’t a design company that never requires overtime! As long as the compensatory-leave system is well established, that’s fine! The good thing here is that if you work through the night, you don’t have to come to work the next day—you can rest at home. If you work overtime on holidays, you accumulate compensatory leave, so those who want to take a longer vacation can save up several days and find a suitable time to use them.

The HR manager and department manager take turns conducting interviews. The company rules and systems are available in printed form for detailed review. Compared with other companies in the same industry, the pay and benefits are fairly good. The company occupies three floors, making it clear that it is a large-scale design company. Each department is divided into teams, with team leaders or managers guiding everyone through projects, so there are fewer problems with having to work independently or difficulty adapting. The client base is also quite broad, and many of the clients are well-known. The best part is that there is no rush to clock in: as long as you complete eight hours of work a day, you can leave when you have nothing else to do.

Occasionally, you may have to work overtime with your manager to rush projects. After the manager finishes their busy work and has time to review your projects, it may already be afternoon, so any revisions have to be made in the evening or at night, requiring overtime. Fortunately, the company regularly provides dinner, and if you leave work after 11 p.m., you can call Taiwan Taxi to take you home at the company’s expense. I heard from senior colleagues that a coworker once had a traffic accident while riding home after working overtime, so since then the company has prohibited employees from riding home when working late; instead, they must take a taxi, paid for by the company. Company bonuses are based on the performance achievement rate. Personally, I think that is fine because, in related industries, income is determined by performance.

The food and entertainment at the year-end banquet are great. In particular, there is so much food at the Christmas party that you can’t finish it all, and there are also gifts to take home. After the start-of-work worship ceremony, you can immediately enjoy a big meal. The company-organized overseas trips take you to places you might never have thought of visiting, such as Turkey, Greece, and Palau. I chose to go to Turkey, and the company subsidized part of the cost. There is a monthly birthday party and birthday cash gift. Cash and gifts are given out during the three major festivals. The workplace is pretty good, and the colleagues get along well. My supervisor is quite great (though I don’t know about the supervisors in other departments). If you work overtime too late, you can even take a taxi home for free.

The clients handled by my department are all large enterprises. Although their budgets are quite high, the clients are very difficult to deal with. After holding a meeting on Friday, they may say they want the content and design drafts revised by Monday, so we have no choice but to come to the office to work overtime on Saturday. Whether you need to work overtime usually depends on the work situation: sometimes it is demanding, and sometimes it is relaxed. Overall, compared with the work environment at the advertising company I worked for previously, this job is easier. When chatting with my colleagues, I often hear them complain about how hard the work is, and I see them working overtime frequently. I feel that it really is very tough for them.

Paid job-search leave is available, but proof is required

Laid off before the Lunar New Year—heartless

The company handles almost all kinds of exhibitions across Taiwan, both large and small.

However, technology and automotive exhibitions make up the majority.

ASUS is a long-term client they work with.

They have many well-known client brands.

Some of their design capabilities are quite strong and are worth learning from.

The working hours are long... Employees work overtime every day, and supervisors also like to see people working overtime. Occasionally, you hear that a certain supervisor or colleague has stayed overnight at the office.

Overtime has become a vicious cycle. There is no clock-in system, and working hours are flexible, so people who worked late the night before come in very late the next morning.

Each project is handled by one person from the business department together with the design department.

For exhibitions, there are separate graphic design and 3D teams.

1. The office is very clean

2. The three seasonal bonuses are paid in cash

3. If you work overtime until 11 p.m., you can take a taxi home

4. I can't think of anything else...

1. The overtime is absolutely insane, with no overtime pay and no compensatory leave—an outright, complete violation of the Labor Standards Act. (I'm really curious why the company hasn't been sued.)

2. The seniority system is extremely serious. (Junior employees really need to have good emotional intelligence. They'll keep you after work to do things. They’re fucking crazy. Being rude to junior employees is apparently taken for granted. They don’t finish their own work and then expect junior employees to help complete it.)

3. Everyone in the Events Department likes to smoke. (Every day, the secondhand smoke makes me dizzy and gives me a headache. Their clothes and breath constantly smell like smoke.)

4. Department dinners are always about work, and supervisors will suddenly come back to work even while on vacation. (They’re completely obsessed with work—it's as if they have no life at all.)

5. As far as the Business Department is concerned, the Design Department has to be on standby at all times. (Do you think everyone is just like you and has no family or personal life?)

6. The turnover rate is insanely high—changing employees is no different from changing underwear.

7. Some coworkers are very cold. Everyone just focuses on their own work, and they aren’t friendly to newcomers either.

8. Mealtimes are never on schedule. On event days, almost no one cares what time they eat. (Sometimes you don’t get to eat all day.) Some coworkers even don’t dare eat because the iron-willed female boss hasn’t eaten yet. (If she ruins her stomach, can the boss give her own stomach to the employees?)

9. They say working hours are flexible, but the supervisor says you have to arrive before 10 a.m. (What the hell? We worked overtime until 4 a.m. the night before.)

10. Even after work and during holidays, they keep sending LINE messages nonstop. (They seriously think everyone has no life?

P.S. Unless you genuinely don’t need to sleep, eat, or take vacations, you really, really should not work for this company. The salary is extremely ordinary, but they treat employees like exploited laborers. If you leave work on time, they’ll think you have nothing to do. Absolutely do not believe them when they tell you during the interview that overtime only happens when there are events. In reality, there are very few days without events, and on those days they’ll have you prepare proposals, so you’ll still definitely have to work overtime.

Regarding the company’s “Industrial Designer” position—Pros:

1. The work allows for more flexibility in planning your own schedule.

2. Bonuses for the three major holidays / birthday celebrations / year-end banquet, etc.

3. The company is located right outside an MRT station, making transportation convenient.

4. The work environment is clean, with cleaning staff, and comfortable.

Regarding the company’s “Industrial Designer” position—Cons:

1. The company operates on a highly centralized, person-dependent system. The chain of command is completely chaotic and controlled by a few managers, while the company seriously lacks the standardized workplace practices that are common in ordinary companies.

2. Everyone claims to understand design, but their professional knowledge is seriously lacking (you could say they fundamentally do not understand industrial design). Although they hire professionals, those professionals must follow the ways the owner and managers do things, making it “completely” impossible to achieve normal effectiveness.

3. Their understanding of designers’ performance is extremely traditional. They expect designers in different industries to produce the same results based on working hours from other industries, while also measuring a designer’s value by whether they work overtime.

4. The chain of command is chaotic and constantly changing, while there is also a serious lack of understanding of expertise and common sense in other fields. The owner and managers give conflicting instructions, causing projects to take twice the effort and time for half the results.

5. A large amount of working time is spent in meaningless meetings and discussions. They lack an understanding of the project time and processes that industrial design requires, yet still demand immediate results and contributions.

I believe all job seekers work diligently and conscientiously, striving day after day to produce good results for both the company and themselves. But here, you truly, truly cannot get anything done.

● Opportunity to encounter and learn from different cases across a wide range of fields

● Suitable for those who enjoy various challenges and want to hone their skills here

● Bonuses for the three major holidays, birthday parties, employee trips, and year-end banquet

● Friendly and easygoing colleagues

● Relatively comfortable work environment

● Heavy caseload; overtime support is often required

● Insufficient staffing to handle the excessive workload, resulting in individuals taking on too many cases and making timely mutual support more difficult

● New-hire training content is not standardized; employees need to proactively seek out learning opportunities

● Communication about cases is occasionally unequal or headed in the wrong direction

● High pressure and a fast pace; requires considerable patience and perseverance

There is no compensatory leave or overtime pay for working overtime

The boss’s wife runs the company; those who obey her thrive, and those who oppose her perish

Leaving work on time is seen as having nothing to do, as being too idle

Working day and night, with no holidays, is commonplace

The salary is average