愛爾卓資訊有限公司

Train psychological resilience—helping you withstand more workplace bullying and micromanagement in the future

When I first started working, I went to the bathroom to pee and poop, about once or twice a day (pooping might take around 10 minutes).

After a month, I was required to report when leaving my seat to go to the bathroom,

and report again upon returning from the bathroom.

I thought the company was a software company, but it turned out to be a kindergarten worried that the children might get lost!!

Seniority (provided you curry favor and build good relationships)

A rookie with no connections is just a scapegoat.

There was a new feature, and I was asked to help the backend team research how to build a WebAPK.

My manager tossed it to me, saying it was very simple and telling me to have it done by the next day.

I had to find a command that would let the backend package a webpage into an APK from the admin panel.

Then I had to research what this thing was and add other functionality, and the whole day was gone.

When I gave my report the next day, my manager questioned why I still hadn't finished it and so on.

After the meeting, two of the longest-serving engineers on the same team told me that

after researching it for a month, they had found that the time cost was too high and it was very difficult to implement.

They had already discussed it with the manager and decided not to do it.

So why was I still working on it for the manager?

I showed them the message where the manager had told me to do it.

In my head, I thought: If I had known beforehand that you guys had spent a month researching it without figuring it out, and then the manager asked me to finish it in one day, I definitely would have told the manager off.

It really was very difficult to implement. I tried many different methods and finally got it working after a week.

Then I was criticized for taking a week when I had been given one day to do it.

A week later, I was laid off.

I thought: Those old-timers couldn't finish it in a month and nothing happened to them; they even discussed it and decided not to do it.

Then they shifted the blame onto me, expecting me to finish it in one day (it looked like management was under pressure and needed to find a scapegoat).

I finished it in a week, which was faster than those old-timers who couldn't do it in a month,

and they still laid me off.

Pretty hilarious.

Interview advice

I recommend that everyone constantly improve themselves,

prepare to move on to another company, or keep learning.

Don’t treat this place as a lifelong job.

Taiwan isn’t that great.

Bosses will always use you and then throw you away, so staying alert and keeping yourself safe is the best choice.

Otherwise, you never know when this ticking time bomb of a boss will explode again.

Also, this company seems to want to create a startup atmosphere, but it just can’t seem to do so.

The boss is too traditional.

For example, when a holiday falls on a weekend and a substitute day off is provided, startups would just give everyone the day off. Here, they’re basically telling you that if you don’t come in, you have to take leave, while claiming it’s not compulsory????

What are they being so arrogant about?

You come to work here and still have to be emotionally blackmailed by them—seriously, thanks a lot.

We provide the technical expertise. If you were a little nicer and more respectful, and occasionally used the pity card directly, maybe we’d even go along with it.

They might say the company needs to finish a project urgently and ask everyone to help out, but as soon as an announcement is posted, it makes it seem as though everyone doesn’t want to work. I really recommend that the boss study psychology to better understand how to interact with people.

There are no drawbacks; all the drawbacks are included among the advantages.

Pros:

If you're just looking for enough to get by, you can come here. The salary isn't bad.

If you want to get paid comfortably and find a sense of accomplishment from being able to get things done, you can come here, but the emotional value is very low, and it's easy for your rationality to snap.

The reason your rationality snaps isn't that you can't handle the work itself,

but that the personnel managers sometimes implement inhumane policies or use strange, old-fashioned practices, making them very unfriendly toward newcomers and fresh graduates—even somewhat deliberately so.

The boss seems to do the kinds of things that people who are ostracized by society might do: namely, refusing to go along with your wishes.

At times, the company displays a traditional style.

Sometimes, you can sense that the boss wants to shake off the label of being a stereotypical old-school boss or an inconsiderate person, and will be slightly friendlier toward you.

But once the time comes, they revert to their old ways again, making you wonder whether the boss has a bit of antisocial personality.

Cons:

This company is a strange existence; the boss is too narcissistic.

One way of looking at it is that the boss wants to shake off the stereotypical old-school-boss image, so they keep wavering between the two. Sometimes the policies are very employee-friendly.

At other times, they are mixed with the kinds of unwritten rules that only old companies have. It's truly unbearable.

This company pays well, but only for senior employees.

However, raises are very low—around 500–1,000 only. Extremely little.

Even less than civil servants.

I recommend negotiating a high salary from the start.

But I’ve already left, so it’s not a concern for me anymore.

The psychological experience at this company isn’t very good.

The boss makes people feel very pressured.

He has an attitude of someone making a product,

without showing any respect,

yet expects us to conform to his traditional way of thinking in every way.

The boss seems very stressed.

They make a lot of grand promises,

but the salary is decent.

104 describes it as a startup,

but when I went to the company for an interview,

it didn’t really have a startup atmosphere.

The company atmosphere was rigid,

so it’s not very suitable for newcomers or sensitive people.

The interview questions were very thorough.

However, the manager also seemed somewhat incompetent.

I hope they can provide more opportunities for hands-on work.

Sometimes, just asking questions doesn't really reveal someone's level.

None

The supervisor kept saying: “Could you stop being so listless?”

Me: “Could you give me an example?”

Supervisor: “I think you’re very listless. In life, don’t look back at the past; just don’t be listless in the future.”

Me: “But without an actual example, it’s hard to know what I need to improve.”

Supervisor: “Like I said, you should look forward in life, not at the past. Besides, there are so many things—how could I remember them all?”

Me: “But you’ve kept saying this for the past few months. I want to know what I did that made people feel I was listless, so I can change it in the future.”

Supervisor: “I feel like we’re stuck in an endless loop. I’ll have someone higher up talk to you instead.”

Then I was laid off the following week.

When things are busy, there is a ton of overtime; when things are slow, it is extremely idle. Some employees and supervisors come in very early and then go out to buy breakfast (or just wander around?). As long as you are not under close scrutiny, you can coast until retirement. If something goes wrong, connections can get you out of trouble; things are handled based on personal relationships.

The person in charge has a very narcissistic personality. If anyone does not conform to his ideas, he will loudly berate them. Normally, he keeps a close eye on what employees are doing under the guise of concern, making people feel heavily micromanaged and untrusted. On top of the high-pressure environment, the entire office is very quiet. Several administrative staff came and left after only a short time, so eventually they simply stopped hiring administrative and HR staff and had the R&D team take turns handling administrative duties.

The employees and supervisors have made the entire office feel steeped in office politics in order to serve the person in charge. In addition, there is no set of standards, so overall efficiency is extremely low. If you have connections, problems are no problem; if you have no connections, connections become a problem. The technology is also very outdated, with most of it consisting of packages and coding practices from five to ten years ago.

Fortunately, I have already left. I have heard that many senior employees stayed for only a few months before leaving—they really do not stay long. The company burns through disposable chopsticks at an alarming rate, and eventually had to raise salaries, yet still found it difficult to recruit people. The person in charge even complained that people nowadays cannot handle hard work and wondered why the turnover rate was so high. Since there is no HR or administrative staff, anyone leaving who wants to confirm their final salary has to contact the person in charge, who told me, “If there’s a problem with your salary, go ahead and sue the company”.....

He may not realize that the high turnover rate is largely his fault....

None

The interview took place at the elevator lobby, with no interview process, which showed little respect for the interviewee.

The interviewer had a poor attitude and kept looking at their laptop,

saying they were looking for an entrepreneurial partner rather than an employee,

while the job title listed on 104 was simply “Engineer.”

They said they wanted to hear my ideas, but then did not really listen,

which made me feel that this company should be looking for someone more senior for the position.

They would probably be very strict with newcomers; it seems like a somewhat arrogant company.