Falsely accused of vague nonsense. Lawyer up? Workplace abuse rights?

Well this is my second adventure in asking the internet for advice, and the first didn’t go nearly as badly as I had thought so here’s a second.

It feels so wrong and so bad to be honest, but other than that I have no reason to quit the job.

It all started happening after I made some formal complaints. These complaints were recognized as legitimate and within my right at the time.

The more I bring this up, the more trouble it just causes.

They don’t want to fire me. They seem to actually want me to stay, I guess.

But they know what this is. They know it’s bullying. I think for my sake and everyones’, it seems time to put my foot down and quit.

As far as the accusations go, it’s just stuff like they will take any opportunity imaginable, from the slightest transgression to any misfortunate circumstance, and use it against me, to try to paint me as causing someone else “emotional trouble.” It’s really despicable, and really nasty. It’s like they want to paint me as a bad guy. They just keep it as vague as possible, but make it sound as serious as possible at the same time. I really, really hate it.

Honestly, I think I need a lawyer AND a mental health counselor after this experience haha

By the way, I don’t work at a joe blow buxiban. I actually work in the public school system, but most of the problems stem from the agent, not the school, as far as I can tell.

Yep people can be quite vindictive.

It’s a toxic workplace and you need to leave for your own sake. You don’t need to leave the country per se as there are many good jobs as well.

Yep. I had to take action with my former employer and I had stomach ulcers that I carried for 9 months after that.

3 Likes

Agreed with Marco’s advice mostl. However, in my opinion, I suggest not going legal and just leave. Save yourself the hassle.

Court cases cause more stress than is warranted winning the case. unless it is actually serious. if you are joking about mental health, it means it is already affecting your head, which leads to body issues. Pretty much by proxy. I personally would rather cut my losses with office type cunts for my health, rather than a 1~3 year process that might leave me with real health issues from the intense stress it will no doubt cause. Be it insomnia, ulcers, cancers, depression etc. Sometimes it is just worth it to cut the loss and move on. ASAP. to justify this, I always ask myself: How much would i spend on a 1 month vacation? then ask myself, the benefit long term ofthat vacation. then compare the long term affects of the legal systems dumbfuckery. and i enter a number amount that i feel it is either worth fighting for or worth moving on. if people were getting hurt, it is a different story and worth pursuing even at ones own health risks. but if not, walk away.

my 2 cents.

1 Like

Say to the agent that whatever problems you’re unhappy with stop or you’ll report them to the MOE. This is assuming that the problems you’re unhappy about are unreasonable.

Wednesday the boss says I left a dirty food bowl on the sink. I had not eaten anything so it wasn’t my food bowl. 75 kids but it was me who left the food bowl on the sink? Told her I wouldn’t be eating at the school any longer.

Thursday kids sitting on the floor with their books as I’m asking them to come up to the while board to answer questions. Same boss lady comes in and says that the desks are there for the kids to sit at.

So much bull siht at these places.

that’s just passive aggressive shit. usually easily turned around by inviting the person out and becoming friends. usually these people are just emotionally damaged, dont take that small petty shit personally. there is a lot of bugger stuff that can worry you :slight_smile:

The teaching gig tends to attract a certain type as well. just brush it off, it’s easier.

1 Like

Do you happen, by any chance, to know a lawyer? I think this thread needs a photo of a business card. :grin:

1 Like

I applied at some of the pseudo-“international” schools and they wanted to hire me, but said I should finish this contract first. So I guess if I stay, it’s a buxiban…

What is an appropriate way to quit? Honestly, I’m about to quit tomorrow and then leave in a few days. I could also give them 20-30 days notice and leave after finishing the month of September, but that’d give them a whole month to scheme.

Or… cross my fingers and try to survive until this semester ends…

Geeze, that seems really trivial compared to what I’m dealing with

To be honest, when I said that, they told me something like: ‘you’ll find that the MOE and everyone at your school will stand with us.’ I don’t think they are wrong.

I’ve documented everything in both powerpoint and google slides and made a video going through everything, with links to copies of everything, but so far just kept it to myself. I don’t actually want to be the aggressor here. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

1 Like

That’s right. I don’t like the idea of it either. Life is too short.

What a shame all this mess is, really. It feels like the real typical China 101 experience.

Well since you haven’t told us what you are dealing with…….

Give us an example

1 Like

Speaking as an American dealing with litigation in Taiwan for my disabled father-in-law, I can tell you that litigation is not worth it. The court system is backwards and corrupt, and they will just protect the school system.

I suggest you look for an attorney to do 3 things for you:

  1. Write a formal complaint letter to the government authority who oversees the system.
  2. Make sure that lawyer can go to the press to expose your story.
  3. After the above is done, have that lawyer call the manager at your workplace telling they will do the above.

The locals in Taiwan absolutely hate being shamed. The above will send a message.

Just be sure not to complain on your social media and name names. Taiwan has criminal defamation laws which the locals love to weaponize. My wife is dealing with that now, and are in the process of getting the press to cover her father’s abuse story. Yes, the abusers filed defamation charges when my wife complained on social media about her father’s abuse.

Good luck with this. Expect to spend around $1k-$2k USD for this. It just may not be worth it in the end.

2 Likes

Taiwan workplaces are weird. The only reason why I’ve stayed in Taiwan is because my partner is here. I’ve been offered much better jobs with much better money yet here I stay.

The first thing is there’s always some family member working there. They barely know what they’re doing but go off on power trips. This has happened at every single place I’ve worked at. I’ve been the recipient of their abuse on a couple of occasions and have witnessed this behavior against other employees.

The second is the management are answerable to the owners. Sometimes the manager is also part of the ownership group. I say group because even if it’s a single family run enterprise they will have family meetings to discuss how to gouge more money. And although you might only see one of the families there’s usually brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, also as part owners.

Gouging money is the single most important goal. Never underestimate this. Those crappy books they buy for a couple hundred nt$ are routinely marked up to over $10,000 at the start of the new semester.

If your power tripping coworker is coming under scrutiny they will deflect by making stuff up about someone else. They will coerce other local coworkers to join their crusade. They will even go as far as to pay the monthly fees of students to get students parents to make complaints against you. You cannot win in this situation. Especially if they are part of the family.

Now even if you leave you need to understand that you cannot use that place as a reference for any new place you go to. They will bad mouth you in order to make your life as difficult as possible. And if the place you left also loses a bunch of kids after you leave then that type of thing is exacerbated tenfold. They make it like their mission to destroy you.

The only thing you can really do is try to leave on as amicable terms as possible.

Thank you for having me. It’s been great here. I’ve loved my time here but I’ve been offered a job with better hours and more money with opportunity to advance my career. I would recommend anyone I know to come work for you guys. You’ve been so great.

As sickly as it sounds that’s exactly what they want to hear. Even if they know it’s all bullshit.

1 Like

You’re so right about the toxicity of Taiwan work environments.

1 Like

Of course the obvious answer is “Like it or lump it.”

But I’ve been down this road before, and you’re always asking yourself “Is it me?” From what you said I think it’s probably not you, but from the other side of the internet I have no way of knowing.

Once, however, you start equating work with bullying it’s probably best for everyone if you see yourself out. Negotiating social relationships at work is always difficult (I had to block a coworker on Line today, and I also notified the curriculum director), but yeah, once you’re feeling cornered like that it’s probably best to leave. I know it’s easier said that done.

2 Likes

I worked a lot of different jobs in Taiwan… Most were very cool and everyone just let me do my thing. But a couple gigs were insane. Like awful Wego school in Peitou where they deliberately singled me out and hassled me with micromanagement for a whole year. Even the other foreigners were brainwashed to hassle me. Later met a former colleague who laughed it off and told me he was so happy to escape that snakepit, too …

Best job was technical writing… But even then, one had to watch out for crazy salesmen who would pop up and angrily demand some project be finished instantly, and out of queue…

I think a lot of foreigners in Taiwan are masochistic for putting up with so much mean crap from crazy Taiwanese… Who knows why they are like that? Many Taiwanese are perfectly graceful, not control freaks and quite sane. I remember that the best schools were run by people with actual MAs in education. Except, I had one job run by a very cool lady in Peitou who was so laid back, but she had no education, and herself could barely speak English, lol… Best job was the Catholic girls high school across the river from Tamsui, lol. Pretty girls with brains and class, although a fair whack of mean bitches with awful princess complexes & grandiose expectations for super-rich husbands…

Teaching at a Korean-Cambodian university in Cambodia proved more rewarding than anything in Taiwan because I was given 100% total freedom to create curricula for literature, sociology and history courses. Nobody told me what to do even one time in four years, and I never experienced or witnessed a single staff issue. Everything was cool, mature, natural.

Enjoy the insanity! Quit while you still can!

2 Likes

Fuck that shit. Like, really, fuck it. That’s insane.

2 Likes

This 200%.

Kill them with kindness. Took me a while, but I finally realized that it often wasn’t me, but their emotional damage manifesting itself. Anecdotally, some middle-aged women can be quite bad here, seemingly due to emotional scars acquired from growing up in a highly chauvinist society over the years, and/or having an abusive partner.

Break the cycle and be the bigger person. Not saying it will work 100% of the time but it has had a surprisingly high success rate here for me, fwiw

3 Likes

I had the complete opposite experience.

I sued, I was treated with respect and my complaints were heard and I was awarded money.