looking for a new job, my coworkers are toxic

I moved to Japan this June and I currently work for a Japanese company in a department called management planning, and my main work is teaching English within the company but I also get assigned other work like recruiting, social media marketing, and so on.

I’m the only western person in my company, and I was being trained by my senpai however I felt my senpai was really toxic because she swirches between being nice and mean to me and nowadays I feel she tries to provoke me, she says a lot of things that definitely pass as power harassment but unfortunately I don’t have a lot or evidence to prove it because I didn’t record. She’s tried to get my trust and told things to others that I wanted to keep private and spreading rumors about me in the company that is ruining my reputation. Unfortunately I look like the villain and had a meeting with superiors that I was apparently slandering her which I don’t recall doing, and once she made me so upset that I said something out of anger and now they are using this as evidence to.prove I’m harassinf her.My superiors are suggesting me to communicate to her but I know it wont work out, I’ve been ignorong her since the meeting and blocked her on all social media platform. When I talk to her she tries to provoke me and also records me a lot to try and get a reaction ane then use it against me. I tried to tell her to stop multiple times but she doesn’t get it

In the meeting with my superiors they still expect me to get my drivers license which I ak paying with my own money and I work on saturdays sometimes which is really tiring for me. My drivers license isn’t going well wo I am Planning to quit. My friends think they have a mamagement problem because many people quit. Just for a reference but 4 people quit since I entered this company. Almost everyone except my senpai who entered the cmpany last year quit. They also expect a lot out of me and give too much work. Most employees here are doing overtime as well. My superiors dont empathize with the fact that I moved to Japan this year and that it takes time for me to adjust, and they are upset that I’m not acting Japanese. I guess its because I.speak Japanese but its not perfect, I’m not Japanese so I know I got a lot to learn but I feel they don’t like that and just want me to blend in if that makes sense. But they hired me to state my opinion and things like that, so I find its a bit contradictory and I cant neatly fit in the boxes

I am planning to change my job because I dont like the company culture, and I want to move to a big.city instead of inaka but does anyone have advice on what to do if my coworker decides to go on a lawsuit on me, and also any sites you would recommend for job hunting or what other kinds or jobs I could get

7 comments
  1. many people find themselves in situations that are a misfit for them. No shame leaving in that case.

    Rule 1 look after yourself first.

    Good luck.

  2. You teach English?

    It’s not common to fire people in Japan, they harass them out instead. Given the writing example above, maybe you aren’t skilled enough for the job and they now know.

  3. Look at it as a valuable learning experience. Take form it what you can and prepare to move on. I would try to stay there while you look for your next opportunity, though that may be difficult. Making the decision to leave will help you mentally and make your remaining time there more bearable. One word of advice, don’t speak negatively of your current employer or boss in your interviews. Create and practice a neutral way of explaining that it wasn’t the best fit for you and focus on any positives and the new role & company. No one likes to hire a complainer and they won’t care how bad it was.

  4. why would your coworker “go on a lawsuit on” you (you teach English???)? if you haven’t given anyone a reason, they won’t do that. also the advice I can give you is to not share private information in a company setting that you don’t want anyone else to know. and if you flipped out on her then she has reason to record you because she may be afraid of you? there’s really a lot of personal lessons you can learn from this experience. otherwise these things will likely happen at any company you go to.

  5. >I was apparently slandering her which I don’t recall doing

    How do you “not recall” doing something as serious as that? You either did it and remember, or didn’t and remember. I “don’t recall” is what guilty people usually say.

  6. Sorry, you said you’re main work is…teaching English?

    > I’ve been ignorong her since the meeting

    This won’t go over well. You need to remain 100% professional, all you are doing is showing that you can’t work well with others. There will *always* be unpleasant people at work. *Always.* If you just start ‘ignoring’ people you don’t like, you won’t last long at *any* company.

    You ‘feel’ like your sempai is doing this, you ‘feel’ like she’s doing that, you ‘know it won’t work out’, I ‘guess’ this and that…I’m not saying the company’s great and you’re at fault. I am saying that there may also be some projecting going on. Take notes and records. Be professional. NEVER say something out of anger at work.

    ​

    I don’t understand why your driver’s license is relevant…

    In any event – you clearly think it is a bad company – why are you even asking for advice? Start job hunting and/or quit – it’s not rocket science.

Leave a Reply
You May Also Like