Hello,
This is just me ranting. Be prepared for lots of "I"s.
I have been hired by Company A for nearly 2 1/2 months; and is nearing the end of my probationary period.
In Taiwan, it is considered to be a “good” job. I enjoy working. Well… most of the time. I just cant stand some of the people that I work with.
Originally, I applied for an entrance tech position in said company. However, after meeting with the president of the company, I was given the project manager position.
He was impressed by my past achievements and performance record.
Generally, I am a pretty laid back person. I don’t like drama and I definitely don’t gossip.
The last month or so, has been especially hard. Although I pretend, I could hear people talk shit about me everyday.
Even my manager gets in on it. Three weeks ago, in front of the whole company, the president commented on my exceptional abilities and awards.
He even requested my presence on stage before the whole company. Whilst on the way to the stage, I saw my manager grit his teeth in the most displeasing manner.
Since then, my team essentially ignores my comments and questions. And responsibilities that was supposed to be mine has been assigned to others.
It’s as if the rug has been pulled from right under me. WTF.
I am just so tired of this bullshit.
Ever so often, I would hear my manager say to his Robin; “this is how we are going to get rid of him”.
Am I just freaking out for no reason? Am I too naive? Please share your stress dealing techniques with me…
As I am writing this, “ROBIN” is looking over my shoulders from two cubicles away… Checking on my every action.
I know this, because I can see his reflection from my shinny black background monitors.
Your boss obviously likes you. Simply tell him that you’re not prepared to continue like this. Name names. Point them out. The ONLY reason they do this is because they think they’re anonymous. Name them. In public. Very un-Taiwanese, of course, but if your boss really likes your work, it will work. Your colleagues will hate you, but so what? It sounds like they already hate you, so you’re no worse off.
Or, since you can obviously understand what they’re saying, simply confront them. “What the FUCK do you think you’re saying about me? Let me hear it! Better yet, let’s call a meeting with the boss and tell HIM what you’ve just said! RIGHT FUCKING NOW! And STOP that inane grinning and shuffling your feet at me! What the FUCK do you think you are? A jumped-up fucking RICE FARMER?”
Face it. You are in the deep deep shit, and nothing you say will make it any worse.
Sandman, in his own diplomatic way, is giving you the straight on your situation. Basically, you’re fucked…and not in a “good” way.
As an employee in a Taiwanese company your most important and overwhelmingly important duty is to: #1 - Make your immediate boss LOOK GOOD! #2 - If in doubt, see #1
You have somehow got the eye of the President and that violates the Imperial Chain of Importance.
Unless you can use your buddy-buddy relationship with the company President to take out your boss…err…jump up the ladder quickly…you have made some very big enemies and they will now devote themselves to fucking you over. As it appears they are now doing.
Go Machiavellian on their asses or start looking for a new job.
Post an ad on Tealit for a language exchange partner. Explicitly state that you’re only looking for people who are gangsters. (I once had a person email me about an ad looking for a language exchange partner and one of his main points was that he wasn’t a gangster – clearly the wrong kind of person in this situation.) Failing that, fake it by getting a tai-ke haircut, wearing a singlet/tank top to the office, wearing a scooter helmet with ears and casually spitting binlang into Robin’s cubicle.
Is there no one in the company that you are on friendly enough terms to find out whats got them in a tizzy? Other than gritting his teeth and whispering behind your back, has anyone told you they were unhappy about something, to your face? Do you have a habit of running to the boss and not dealing with your manager first? Some bosses here seem to like that, but it might not sit well with your manager. I mean, I agree with Sandman and TainanCowboy, the situation looks pretty nasty, and youre saying you have no real idea what the cause is?
Make an appointment with the President. Say that you have been feeling uncomfortable, you have overheard a few things but you’re not sure if they are serious. Coupled together with the face that many of your responsibilities have been passed on to other people - you’re feeling ostracised in the office, and you don’t know why. Maybe you’re reading too much into it, but you enjoy working there and really want to do your job well, and worrying about this is affecting your motivation. Would he be able to help you look into it/work it out?
One more thing, before you consider running off like a bull in a China shop as some of the other posters suggest, and I dont know how much they know about working in the tech industry, but I’ve got a fair bit of experience.
Sounds like you originally were going for small job in the engineering dept. and got landed with project manager. I can tell you what that sounds like to me, at least in part with minimal facts. In some ways a small job in Engineering and work your way up is much safer, there is a hierarchy, and if people in Engineering felt there was a reason for you to go, they wouldnt need to discuss it behind your back, you’d be gone and the boss couldn’t save you.
But Project Manager, is the more creative department, not usually part of Engineering. The Prima Donna department if you will, the most important department in many ways as this is where all ideas come from. So you get a mixture of experts in the field, bullshit artists, people with project management experience and there is a great deal more crossover to marketing and sales. Also, the boss keeps a VERY close, and perhaps almost dictatorial role over this department.
My suggestion at this point, with what we know and since it sounds like you have an Engineering background is to align yourselves with some of the engineers, find out what it is they find frustrating with dealing with you project managers, and I suspect they could go on for a month of Sundays on the subject. Ignore whats going on in your department for the moment, Prima Donnas that they are, if you are just getting on with something will quickly move to something else to complain about.
After the original post, a girl from my team told me that she was originally hired to be our systems admin. She has been working for 8 months now and her position has been greatly reduced… so much so that she is now his “secretary”. She told me that she eventually gave in to his offer after seeing him get rid of someone right before I came into the company. She tells me that she knows exactly how I feel. Being constantly blocked and set aside.
On the brighter side, she tells me that the president would periodically call to ask about my status. I guess this seemed to annoy my manager very much. I will try to schedule an appointment with the president before the coming Chinese New Year break. My wife* who works in the business unit, told me that most of the other senior members on her floor refuses to work with my manager, solely on the basis that he is an idiot.
I introduced my wife to the president after he had told me that he needed someone who was fluent in ----------.
Anyways, will check back again. Thanks everyone for your help and honest opinions.
Easy to get lost in company politics without a fluent Chinese speaker behind your back. In a previous company I came into my daily con-call with the US only to find the sleazy “zero sales” sales manager in my chair literally. He was friend of the president of the small tech company and thus had convinced him for a job swap. Nobody even notified me.
He started the con-call with saying:
"Hey, next week we come to visit you guys. Hahahaha. Shall I bring something with me from Taiwan…?
US customer: No thanks
“Hahahaha, what about a girl, pretty girl from Taiwan bring to you?”
Sharp intake of air from the customer. And I mean, he was from OREGON, not multimetrosexual SanFran or whatever.
I left the room and was quitting a few days later.
Now wife, also in my new company keeps an open ear for that office politics…
Smile with a shit-eating ear to ear visage.
Do all possible to make your boss look good.
Leave various traps for his minions, in such a way that they know that you know that they know are easily bested.
It’s a bit late to answer, but from my experience in working in TW, (s)he who paints himself as the victim always get the upper-hand. Sounds like OP got a nice case going for him.
Complain about X and Y doing mysterious evil deeds against you, sounds reasonably convincing, and you will have the entire team weeping for you. For some reason as soon as A complain about B, all of the other co-workers switch their brains off and side with the offendee. It works even better if A is a female and B a (foreign) male.
I still cannot believe the shit that I have seen flying over, whether in my direction, or in some of my colleagues’ face.
I no longer accept to work for Taiwanese companies these days.
Well, definitely looking for better prospects. Been to a couple of interviews, but am going to shop around. However since posting the original rant, I have grown a larger pair of sizable ka-ho-nes… They still give me $#!& though, but now - I give it right back. Seems fair enough right.
During the recent computer show, they went behind my back and saw my client. Obviously it all became very awkward, during my client’s “official visit” to my company.
It’s this kind of crass behavior that I have to put up with on a daily basis. Then today, they have the nerve to correct me on the details of that business meeting. I slipped on my earphones and ended that conversation quick. The old geezer even told my director that I am not needed in Shanghai. And if someone is indeed needed, it should be him that will be going. I cant complain to the director, cause the both of them came from the same company prior to this one, and are buddies apparently.
Anyways, on a brighter note. My wife is pregnant, so that is bringing a smile to my face.
I am glad that your personal life has an exciting and wonderful present and future, however, I feel sorry for your stressful work experience. I can totally relate to some of the things you have experienced. I don’t to pretend to have all the answers, but I can suggest a few things other than posted before. Since you have a very good relationship and support from your main boss, go talk to him occasionally and tell him that you have been under-utilized since there seems some luck of communication or misinformation, and you really wish you want to contribute more effectively in your company. Another thing is that by now you know how your colleagues do behave. So then you should detect any hint of “bad mouthing” or other rumor spreading or other unprofessional behavior before they do it, by announcing in front of your colleagues and your main boss, that it would be very unprofessional and not good for the company if someone would do or behave in such behavior. To let them decide whether after those warnings, they choose to go ahead to do “things.”
you are probably hated because the pres likes you, everyone else is jealous of you or they found out about your salary and are pissed about that. to nail it down in the office who specifically has a beef with you. go to a ‘famous’ snack shop, buy a couple boxes of some ‘famous’ thing, bring it in the office and take note who doesn’t take one-that’s your man. after that, don’t confront him, just get in his face quietly…go to the bathroom the same time, take the same elevator, leave the office the same time, show up to company watering holes when he is present, etc…as well, don’t flash big things around, fancy cell phone, big watches… eat shitty take out food at lunch and pretty soon he (they)won’t hate you anymore. spend more time on the company social circuit, don’t say jack shit to the president and things will turn themselves around. don’t scoot out of the office so early, stay for a bit, even if you are just surfing the net…for some reason they always remember who the first one out of the office is…in a taiwanese office there is somebody always on the hot seat, but it usually changes with every new quarter. you are fairly new and they are just testing you…if you react, and go bitching to the big dog, it will be even worse.