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Japanese man leaves horrible job, gets horrible letter from the company

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Re: Japanese man leaves horrible job, gets horrible letter from the company

#11

Why do people work for these companies? Is there no other option? Is the pay great? Is it not clear that they're a bad company before getting hired?

From my understanding, working for a major company is really bound up in your social standing in Japanese society. Think of it like health insurance in the US, except everyone in the entire society will kind of think you're a bum if you don't work for one of these companies, and it will color things like your interactions with police and your ability to rent an apartment. And, I think, it's more common these days not to work for one of these companies, so it's an issue for more and more people.

Re: Japanese man leaves horrible job, gets horrible letter from the company

#12
post #6

The article mentions _two_ instance of people hiring somebody to quit a job on their own behalf - what? I know there are some Japanophiles here on HN - can somebody explain what that's all about?

Breaking up with your partner is not pleasant. They may cry, throw things at you, threaten to hurt themselves etc.

Quitting a job is similar. I think even outside Japan it can be awkward leaving a job if you feel in some way indebted to your company. Now imagine your boss shouting at you, or maybe worse, appealing to your obligations not to leave the company, convincing you how doing so would make you unworthy of being considered a decent person, or even threatening to give you bad references, etc.

Sometimes it's actually that the other party isn't even malicious and doesn't have to be as ugly as described above. They may truly believe it's in your best interest not to abandon something.

Many people give in when faced with back pressure in those situations or at least struggle with going through such a stressful situation, i.e. many people know they may not be strong enough to go through with it when facing confrontation, so is it a surprise that a service that acts on your behalf is something people would use?

Now add to that that in Japan people generally try to avoid confrontation (esp. those likely to suffer at the workplace / school) and then imagine maybe being in a company that bullied you for years and you've seen others struggle with mustering up the courage to leave. Also, as far as I know, job hopping is still not seen as good. Many people still hope to stay at the first company they got into for a long time, with parents and partners hoping the same (and often pushing back against job changes).

Re: Japanese man leaves horrible job, gets horrible letter from the company

#13
post #6

The article mentions _two_ instance of people hiring somebody to quit a job on their own behalf - what? I know there are some Japanophiles here on HN - can somebody explain what that's all about?

There was a truly surreal article about this practice in The Atlantic several years back[0]. The practice of hiring someone to pretend to be someone else seems acceptable if not common. The man interviewed is hired to pretend to be some girl's father.

>Yuichi: In Japanese business culture, there is a situation where you have to visit a company and say I’m deeply sorry for what I did and just bow and bow. Occasionally, I dream about that.

>Morin: How does that work when you’re hired to do that in real life?

>Yuichi: Usually, I accompany a salaryman who made a mistake. I take the identity of the salaryman myself, then I apologize profusely for his mistake. Have you seen the way we say sorry? You go have to down on your hands and knees on the floor. Your hands have to tremble. So, my client is there standing off to the side—the one who actually made the mistake—and I’m prostrate on the floor writhing around, and the boss is there red-faced as he hurls down abuse from above. Sometimes, I wonder to myself, “Am I actually doing this?”

[0]https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2017/11/paying-fo...

Re: Japanese man leaves horrible job, gets horrible letter from the company

#14
The original tweet[1] containing a photo of the letter is from a Twitter account that no longer exists. Hard to determine the provenance and veracity of said letter, which is full of grammatical errors.[2]

[1] https://twitter.com/kachokun/status/1357366042972987396

[2] https://twitter.com/romanbaken/status/1357549910124449793

Re: Japanese man leaves horrible job, gets horrible letter from the company

#15
post #6

The article mentions _two_ instance of people hiring somebody to quit a job on their own behalf - what? I know there are some Japanophiles here on HN - can somebody explain what that's all about?

I live in Europe. My union offers to negotiate employment contract termination on my behalf as part of their services to members.

Re: Japanese man leaves horrible job, gets horrible letter from the company

#16
post #6

The article mentions _two_ instance of people hiring somebody to quit a job on their own behalf - what? I know there are some Japanophiles here on HN - can somebody explain what that's all about?

If the movie ‘up in the air’ depicts real situations, and I’m pretty sure it does, we have the opposite in the US, where a team is brought in to fire you. I guess it’s because it’s awkward but also because they fear your reaction. That or from what I’ve read, they just get security to escort you out.

Re: Japanese man leaves horrible job, gets horrible letter from the company

#18
post #14

The original tweet[1] containing a photo of the letter is from a Twitter account that no longer exists. Hard to determine the provenance and veracity of said letter, which is full of grammatical errors.[2] [1] https://twitter.com/kachokun/status/1357366042972987396 [2] https://twitter.com/romanbaken/status/1357549910124449793

It's literally on archive.is, though. https://archive.is/oTX33

along with their twitter account: https://archive.is/VNQg8

Re: Japanese man leaves horrible job, gets horrible letter from the company

#20
post #18
post #14

The original tweet[1] containing a photo of the letter is from a Twitter account that no longer exists. Hard to determine the provenance and veracity of said letter, which is full of grammatical errors.[2] [1] https://twitter.com/kachokun/status/1357366042972987396 [2] https://twitter.com/romanbaken/status/1357549910124449793

It's literally on archive.is, though. https://archive.is/oTX33 along with their twitter account: https://archive.is/VNQg8

"If it's on internet it must be true" - Wernher von Braun, winner of Nobel peace prize, 1944
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