Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

For $450, a Japanese Company Will Quit Your Job for You

npr.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 121 posts

Re: For $450, a Japanese Company Will Quit Your Job for You

#41

Post by throwaway6789 »

auslander wrote: post #37
throwaway6789 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my country (India), quitting is a nightmare, especially in the IT consultancies. We have to serve a 3 months notice period. HRs and managers will threaten you (had multiple personal experiences). Then if you somehow quit, you are still at the mercy of previous manager and HR for service (experience) letter, which is needed for future jobs. If you are on H1B, quitting can be even more challenging. Some companies th…

I'm in Australia. Notice to serve is 2-4 weeks, some get 'stress' sick leave for the period, but most don't. Threatening you how? In AU its criminal, nobody does that. No letter is required here for the job, but references are. Just names and phone numbers of mates you worked with, checks are done on personal level, not through HR.

First time I wanted to quit was when they forced me to relocate from one state to another. They just decided among themselves and asked me to relocate. I luckily found another job within 3 days, and went to resign. The manager yelled at me and said I have no way but to move to the other place and serve 2 months notice. I didn't give in, and ended up quitting in 2 weeks. On the last day, the manager said "don't take it personally, its just business". Thankfully, they didn't create any issues after that. I had a friend who had to pay 2 lakh rupees bond amount since he quit 3 months before his 2 year bond expired.

Second time happened when I was in US. They were forcing me to go back to India, and I found another job. Went in to quit and the manager indirectly told me that I may face issues with my service letter. I ended up not quitting because of all the stress and uncertainties.

We need this service letter for finding new jobs in India, and may also be needed if applying for green card.

Re: For $450, a Japanese Company Will Quit Your Job for You

#42

Post by [deleted] »

mijamo wrote: post #36
lx3459683 wrote: post #28

Earlier 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.

[deleted]

Re: For $450, a Japanese Company Will Quit Your Job for You

#43

Post by ptero »

topmonk wrote: post #31

This 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, scripted performances in this case.

Re: For $450, a Japanese Company Will Quit Your Job for You

#44

Post by throwaway6789 »

0xcafecafe wrote: post #40
throwaway6789 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my country (India), quitting is a nightmare, especially in the IT consultancies. We have to serve a 3 months notice period. HRs and managers will threaten you (had multiple personal experiences). Then if you somehow quit, you are still at the mercy of previous manager and HR for service (experience) letter, which is needed for future jobs. If you are on H1B, quitting can be even more challenging. Some companies th…

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 US salary until 1 or 2 days before travel. Then come to US and work for them for the bond period doing whatever they tell us to do. If we were to quit during this time for another job in US, 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 and serve whatever notice period is on the bond.

Re: For $450, a Japanese Company Will Quit Your Job for You

#45

Post by gambiting »

0xcafecafe wrote: post #40
throwaway6789 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my country (India), quitting is a nightmare, especially in the IT consultancies. We have to serve a 3 months notice period. HRs and managers will threaten you (had multiple personal experiences). Then if you somehow quit, you are still at the mercy of previous manager and HR for service (experience) letter, which is needed for future jobs. If you are on H1B, quitting can be even more challenging. Some companies th…

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.

I don't know about India, but in UK if you have a notice period on your contract and leave before it's served, then the company can totally sue you for the work you promised you would do and didn't. So yes, a company can totally say "you can leave right now without working your notice period, but you need to pay us the equivalent of your salary for that time". Or they can say you can't leave until you worked the last day of the notice period - it's their right and something you have agreed to in the contract.

Re: For $450, a Japanese Company Will Quit Your Job for You

#46

Post by auslander »

throwaway6789 wrote: post #41
auslander wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm in Australia. Notice to serve is 2-4 weeks, some get 'stress' sick leave for the period, but most don't. Threatening you how? In AU its criminal, nobody does that. No letter is required here for the job, but references are. Just names and phone numbers of mates you worked with, checks are done on personal level, not through HR.

First time I wanted to quit was when they forced me to relocate from one state to another. They just decided among themselves and asked me to relocate. I luckily found another job within 3 days, and went to resign. The manager yelled at me and said I have no way but to move to the other place and serve 2 months notice. I didn't give in, and ended up quitting in 2 weeks. On the last day, the manager said "don't take i…

Forget green card, go AU, no mass shootings here :)

Re: For $450, a Japanese Company Will Quit Your Job for You

#47

Post by ptero »

tonysdg wrote: post #35
tinco wrote: post #17

Resigning seems hard, but it's a little bit like giving regular feedback in my opinion. 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. Second, you give the compliment sandwich. You start out with thanking them for the opportunity (any job is an opportunity, no matter how shitty it was, you made money and you learned…

> 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.

Re: For $450, a Japanese Company Will Quit Your Job for You

#49

Post by kat »

ekianjo wrote: post #29

I 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.

The secret approach seems to happen in America as well. I've seen it several times. Some quits and no one is told until a few days beforehand. People on other teams are not told until later, etc.

In Canada its much more open. Everyone knows, you give more 4-2 weeks depending on how senior you are. Usually there is gift-giving/going for lunch/etc.

Re: For $450, a Japanese Company Will Quit Your Job for You

#50

Post by axilmar »

How many bullshit does Japan have, I wonder? for as much as I admire them for their achievements I lament them for these strange things.

My favorite method of quiting is the following: I enter the manager's office, I say, "I quit" (signing any documents required), then I leave and they never see me again.

Post reply on HN