Sources and scope
This page collects workplace experiences, questions and discussions submitted by users. Dates shown are submission dates, not periods of employment. Individual reports do not describe the entire company.
Read the community guidelinesAfter working at a small company where a 28K salary came with a responsibility-based system and daily overtime until eight or nine at night, and at a large company where countless rules and regulations and a heavy bureaucratic culture took precedence over practical work, you come here and experience the air of freedom for the first time. A salary noticeably higher than at your previous company brings tears of joy, and not having to worry about anyone’s feelings after work is even more precious. There are no benefits created in name only that are practically useless, and no flashy performances at year-end parties—just substantial mid-year and year-end bonuses you actually receive. Your coworkers work seriously and treat others kindly, and your manager is reasonable and values logic. You are only expected to do your work well and achieve your goals, with the pace in your own hands. You marvel at how such a purely Taiwanese company can have such a Western-style culture.
The subtle organizational structure and ambiguous boundaries between roles leave you confused, and being a newcomer makes the situation even worse. It feels like walking through darkness so complete that you cannot see your own hand: the company gives you a destination, but no one tells you the direction or route. You do not know where you are, where you are going, how far you have already traveled, how far you are from your destination, or even whether you are on the right road... and you only discover the walls after you crash into them.
For a company that values logic and ability, you cannot argue with the attitude that you should find a way to fulfill your own responsibilities. And when friends and family around you admire and praise your situation, you understand how precious it is to have good pay, freedom, and coworkers who all have brains. Yet what is this feeling of frustration in your heart? You cannot quite put it into words. Perhaps everything is your own problem.
The only real drawback is that this otherwise thoroughly Western-style company takes a distinctly Taiwanese approach to overtime pay. But so many companies are like this nowadays that it is hardly surprising.