If you're unaware of other cultures this will make no sense to you, but quitting in many places is very very hard.
I am unaware of other cultures, but you could take some effort to describe it to me.
For $450, a Japanese Company Will Quit Your Job for You
51–60 of 121 posts
Re: For $450, a Japanese Company Will Quit Your Job for You
#52This sort of thing seems really sad to me, From the site linked in the article, "Proper Etiquette for Quitting Your Job in Japan": Show your appreciation to every member of the company, or at least those you have been working with directly. Sweets, small gifts such as mugs, tea sets, a thank-you card or other similar items will be appreciated by everyone. Prepare those for your last day on the job. Usually, Japanese…
When those niceties are not a free choice, but "strongly encouraged" by management, they quickly stop being nice. For a person who spent a lifetime at the firm (which used to be pretty common in Japan) and is retiring from work altogether, they may be a warm touch. For someone who hates the job and wants to leave, maybe not so much. Not burning bridges is always a good idea, but I can understand avoiding long, script…
I mean, Japanese society is like this everywhere and there are tons of services set up to make it easy for you. For instance, I stayed at a hotel near Narita airport, and they had a book organized by continent where you could order souvenirs from whatever place you had just been to send to friends and family (in case you forgot or didn't bother to pick them up while you were there).
Re: For $450, a Japanese Company Will Quit Your Job for You
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I knew a person who wanted to quit, their boss said "no, you can't quit", and they stayed on for several more months [...] > I feel like the it's "me vs them" attitude I see so much on HN leads to worse outcomes I think your anecdote there proves otherwise. That person was asked to act against their own interest and did it out of feebleness. They didn't gain anything in return, it was not a equitable exchange where…
Is 25 yo elderly for you? Because by 2030 there will certainly NOT be 85% of the population as elderly (well except if some new sickness kills all the people below 65 obviously). There might be 35% though, which is already quite high but not unmanageable.
My bad, it was meant to be 2080 but I can't edit the post anymore.
Either way, japan's population is not only ageing but declining at an exponential rate due to low childbirth - which has been directly attributed to the piss poor work life balance. The Japan as we know it today will not exist in a few decades. It will either be a far less populous country, or full of immigrants.
So I don't think we can take their 'not us vs them' attitude in the workplace as any kind of precursor for a successful or happy society.
Re: For $450, a Japanese Company Will Quit Your Job for You
#54I have quit jobs several times in Japan and while quitting was not difficult in itself, I did not like one bit the fact that resignations are almost kept secret to most employees. Like some of my more distant colleagues noticed weeks after I left that I was not in the office anymore and found out by asking around that I resigned. Always amazes me.
I saw this several times in my first post-college engineering job in America; it's not unique to Japan. I didn't notice the guy in the cubicle had left the company for about a week, and there were other people who "mysteriously" vanished. It's a company culture thing: this (small) company just didn't bother telling anyone what was going on with other employees.
At the big companies I've worked at, this would be unheard of: they always had nice going-away parties etc. They even had going-away parties when people transferred to another department.
Re: For $450, a Japanese Company Will Quit Your Job for You
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, ghosting a job is a terrible idea. If two parties invested any amount of time into a relationship, be an adult and own up to your responsibility to end it in a way that gives closure and respects the other person. A job is not a party, a job is a big commitment with a lot of value exchanged both ways. It also benefits you, more than you know.
Funny how the companies don't extend that courtesy to employees. When they're done with you, you're walked out the door. Sure, you should tell them you've quit and not ghost them, but why go to any extra lengths like a two weeks notice when they wouldnt do the same for you?
References? It is relatively common to call a former employer of a prospective employee and verify employment and ask if they would hire the person again.
Re: For $450, a Japanese Company Will Quit Your Job for You
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
Funny how the companies don't extend that courtesy to employees. When they're done with you, you're walked out the door. Sure, you should tell them you've quit and not ghost them, but why go to any extra lengths like a two weeks notice when they wouldnt do the same for you?
References? It is relatively common to call a former employer of a prospective employee and verify employment and ask if they would hire the person again.
Every place I've worked has a policy of only confirming when an employee worked at a company. I'd get references from personal contacts, but they don't care how I left the company
Re: For $450, a Japanese Company Will Quit Your Job for You
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
> First of all it's best done face to face, because you don't want to be misunderstood, and you want to give the other party a fair chance at replying. You're making an assumption here: that one is leaving for amicable reasons (e.g., a better paying job elsewhere, a new career path, going back to school, etc.). There's another mindset that this sort of company is perfect for: "I don't give a hoot about my soon-to-be-…
Amicable reasons or not, face to face is best. At work you sometimes have to face situations that are not pleasant. Staying calm and professional pays dividends. One can (and should) still be quick and firm during the resignation meeting. And the world is a small place -- exiting right can help you in the future, even if you think you will never work with that company again. My 2c.
I often have a hard time networking because I was raised by two very serious people who took their jobs very seriously. I made the mistake of moving to Chicago where it seems like the accepted way to "make friends" at work is for everyone to pick someone to be "Dwight Shrute" and they bond by crapping all over them as much as they can.
I can't begin to tell you how utterly distasteful, unprofessional, and pretty shocking this I find this considering I work in a field full of nerds.
I have no qualms about leaving workplaces with toxic cultures like this (about 90% in Chicago). I have no desire to recommend or be recommended by people who's idea of bonding is forming a clique of bullies, find job security in doing as little training and professional development for new employees as they can get away with, and excuse their own poor performance by drinking until they can't remember their own name.
My work speaks for itself and has been enough to get me in the door wherever I want to go at the salaray I deserve.
Re: For $450, a Japanese Company Will Quit Your Job for You
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
On what legal grounds are they asking you to pay them money? Did you sign a bond or something similar on joining? I have heard anecdata of that not being enforceable.
Company HR will ask you to sign a bond once you get selected in the visa lottery. We have to sign this bond if we want them to go ahead with our H1B process. This is different from the bond they have for freshers (which usually lasts for 2 years at the start of your career). Once we sign this bond, we have to accept whatever salary they offer for our onsite assignment (deputation to US). People won't even know their…
> HR can treat us as "absconding" and refuse to give the service letter unless we either pay the bond amount or come back to India
I would imagine a signing bonus would be handy to pay off the bond. In IT it's fairly common to get signing bonuses.
Re: For $450, a Japanese Company Will Quit Your Job for You
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
So you should quit more often and you'll get better at it. Thats my kind of advice. Quitting a job is like leaving a party. You probably didn't like everyone there. You probably avoided some people. That's where the Irish Goodbye shines. You get to leave without having to decide who to say goodbye to, and avoid long winded and shallow well wishes. As long as you aren't burning bridges, it actually benefits both sides…
No, ghosting a job is a terrible idea. If two parties invested any amount of time into a relationship, be an adult and own up to your responsibility to end it in a way that gives closure and respects the other person. A job is not a party, a job is a big commitment with a lot of value exchanged both ways. It also benefits you, more than you know.
As another person commented, a job is not a commitment. It's a transaction, and it's very impersonal in nature. The second I am not profitable for my employer my ass is out the door, and generally they won't give me any sort of notice. I don't owe my employer anything other than work for my paycheck. If my manager or employer needs "closure" from an employee leaving, they're overly attached to their employees.
Re: For $450, a Japanese Company Will Quit Your Job for You
#60This sort of thing seems really sad to me, From the site linked in the article, "Proper Etiquette for Quitting Your Job in Japan": Show your appreciation to every member of the company, or at least those you have been working with directly. Sweets, small gifts such as mugs, tea sets, a thank-you card or other similar items will be appreciated by everyone. Prepare those for your last day on the job. Usually, Japanese…
Your comment makes me sad, you like most people don't appreciate culture that you don't understand.