Foreigners, especially those from individualistic cultures that have/are working in Japan. Have you ever talked back/ disobeyed your bosses? If so, did they sh*t their pants or did they have any reactions?
Being disrespectful to your boss will likely end with you not getting your contract renewed the next time around.
I have disagreed with my boss and stated my opionion/direction. He liked it as he says most japanese people are like sheep and don’t say anything. He’s promoted me 4 times already.
They introduced me opportunities of other departments. I rejected all and resigned later. My team also left the company within a year. The turnover rate of the whole company is high.
Omg, I lost my shit at the director of my department last week. I’m now no longer the lead on a global project I initiated. I’m actually worried about being fired. I used to have a monthly with this guy and was really favored by him, he canceled those and avoids meetings I’m in.
I didn’t threaten anyone, didn’t swear, just lost my patience, raised my voice, and spoke over him twice in a status update meeting.
The. Dude. Pushes. My. Buttons.
My manager said I need to be more gentlemanly even if I disagree and took over my project. They handled it professionally, and I know I didn’t.
I know in the US, this would not be sufficient terms to demote or fire someone, but the top down structure here has no room for a subordinates to push back.
My advice, shut up and grin.
Why would you talk back or disobey your boss? It’s a job not a playground. If they’re not being professional, then follow the company guidelines for harassment.
I do talk back to my boss, but that’s because our company policy encourages it. Without being disrespectful, however, and when all is said and done I still do as I’m asked.
Based on your comments it sounds like you have never lived or worked in Japan, but you are making assumptions on Japanese bosses. Not sure what the point is, a Japanese boss can be just as great or just as much an asshole as a boss anywhere else.
Yes. He got red like a pepper and if another coworker hadn’t separated us I think it’s very likely he would have punched me – which would have made things much easier for me, to be honest. He is your typical old-fashioned Japanese boss who treats their employees like they are their kids.
In a very Japanese way, he simply ignored our disagreement from the next day as if nothing had happened. Once in a while in a nomikai he would make a joke about me being “my pace” (マイペース) or “aggressive” (as in not measuring my words, not physically) as if what happened was just a friendly disagreement. I’m glad I left that job.
happens all the time. My direct department manager (課長) is an A level asshole. He does not even know what we are doing and orders us to do in his way. I am software engineer and he does not even know how to write one row code. Moreover, he cannot even use smartphone lol. I think he got his job just because he can lick our boss’s ass.
I often have a fight with him over how we should do things. You wont believe, how delusional he is. One day he comes to us and tells technology that can recognize this and this will be awesome, so do it. Next day he comes up with a different idea. Now that one of my coworkers quit because of him, I am the only one who knows about the system we are building. If I quit they will lose so much money that can make him fired. So I am looking for a new job.
I raised my voice and now he does not talk to me anymore.
When I first got here I worked for a shitty black company on repeated 3 month contracts with no guarantee of renewal. I reported directly to the president of the company.
I asked for a small raise (3万) due to how much my responsibility increased since my previous contract and they balked.
I refused to sign the new contract at the same salary and they tried to bully me into it, telling me it would be illegal for me to refuse to sign as it would disrupt their business. They were threatening to sue me if I didn’t renew as I was in the middle of some projects they invested in and there was nobody to replace my work (there was).
My contract ended on a Friday. They called me Monday morning screaming at me for being late. I informed them I was no longer an employee and they should go fuck themselves. I kept all the harassing emails and messages they sent and threatened to go to the labor board with them.
I never heard from them again.
I didn’t agree with my previous boss. I didn’t yell or raise my voice but I did firmly warn him that the project was not going in a good direction and that we would lose the deal with the customer and that we needed to do X instead. He kicked me off that project and then put me on a training program for 6 weeks. Big surprise, the deal didn’t go through and I quit 6 months later. I don’t see how this would have played out different anywhere else in the world.
11 comments
Being disrespectful to your boss will likely end with you not getting your contract renewed the next time around.
I have disagreed with my boss and stated my opionion/direction. He liked it as he says most japanese people are like sheep and don’t say anything. He’s promoted me 4 times already.
They introduced me opportunities of other departments. I rejected all and resigned later. My team also left the company within a year. The turnover rate of the whole company is high.
Omg, I lost my shit at the director of my department last week.
I’m now no longer the lead on a global project I initiated.
I’m actually worried about being fired.
I used to have a monthly with this guy and was really favored by him, he canceled those and avoids meetings I’m in.
I didn’t threaten anyone, didn’t swear, just lost my patience, raised my voice, and spoke over him twice in a status update meeting.
The. Dude. Pushes. My. Buttons.
My manager said I need to be more gentlemanly even if I disagree and took over my project.
They handled it professionally, and I know I didn’t.
I know in the US, this would not be sufficient terms to demote or fire someone, but the top down structure here has no room for a subordinates to push back.
My advice, shut up and grin.
Why would you talk back or disobey your boss? It’s a job not a playground. If they’re not being professional, then follow the company guidelines for harassment.
I do talk back to my boss, but that’s because our company policy encourages it. Without being disrespectful, however, and when all is said and done I still do as I’m asked.
Based on your comments it sounds like you have never lived or worked in Japan, but you are making assumptions on Japanese bosses. Not sure what the point is, a Japanese boss can be just as great or just as much an asshole as a boss anywhere else.
Yes. He got red like a pepper and if another coworker hadn’t separated us I think it’s very likely he would have punched me – which would have made things much easier for me, to be honest. He is your typical old-fashioned Japanese boss who treats their employees like they are their kids.
In a very Japanese way, he simply ignored our disagreement from the next day as if nothing had happened. Once in a while in a nomikai he would make a joke about me being “my pace” (マイペース) or “aggressive” (as in not measuring my words, not physically) as if what happened was just a friendly disagreement. I’m glad I left that job.
happens all the time. My direct department manager (課長) is an A level asshole. He does not even know what we are doing and orders us to do in his way. I am software engineer and he does not even know how to write one row code. Moreover, he cannot even use smartphone lol. I think he got his job just because he can lick our boss’s ass.
I often have a fight with him over how we should do things. You wont believe, how delusional he is. One day he comes to us and tells technology that can recognize this and this will be awesome, so do it. Next day he comes up with a different idea. Now that one of my coworkers quit because of him, I am the only one who knows about the system we are building. If I quit they will lose so much money that can make him fired. So I am looking for a new job.
I raised my voice and now he does not talk to me anymore.
When I first got here I worked for a shitty black company on repeated 3 month contracts with no guarantee of renewal. I reported directly to the president of the company.
I asked for a small raise (3万) due to how much my responsibility increased since my previous contract and they balked.
I refused to sign the new contract at the same salary and they tried to bully me into it, telling me it would be illegal for me to refuse to sign as it would disrupt their business. They were threatening to sue me if I didn’t renew as I was in the middle of some projects they invested in and there was nobody to replace my work (there was).
My contract ended on a Friday. They called me Monday morning screaming at me for being late. I informed them I was no longer an employee and they should go fuck themselves. I kept all the harassing emails and messages they sent and threatened to go to the labor board with them.
I never heard from them again.
I didn’t agree with my previous boss. I didn’t yell or raise my voice but I did firmly warn him that the project was not going in a good direction and that we would lose the deal with the customer and that we needed to do X instead. He kicked me off that project and then put me on a training program for 6 weeks. Big surprise, the deal didn’t go through and I quit 6 months later. I don’t see how this would have played out different anywhere else in the world.