Slashdot Mirror
Employers Who Hold Back Their Employees?
greggman asks: "So, I'm watching 'Tonight 2', the night news program here in Japan and they are showing E3 coverage. I guess one game that hit it off was a game by KOEI called Dynasty something or other. They visited KOEI here in Yokoyama Japan but they had masked out all faces from the team. When the interviewer asked why, the company rep said 'because other companies would try to steal our employees'. That's messed UP!! I consider that to be akin to treating your employees like slaves. If you can't afford to keep your employees and therefore have to make sure they don't find out about better opportunities then you deserve to go out of business. It's their life not the company's. It almost seems like there'd be a law against action like that. All I can suggest is that you don't support companies that actively prevent their employees from bettering themselves." Couple this with the long hours, the draconian employment contracts, and the insane deadlines, and I begin to wonder if this guy has a serious point. For all the money that programmers make, do Employers do more to make their jobs harder than most?
"What do you think? I'm not saying a company should go out of its way to find opportunities for their employees but deliberately getting in the way seems to cross some kind of line to me.
I've actually run a company before and these kind of questions came up. At least once somebody called and actually asked permission to recruit somebody from us. He was a friend but had a good opportunity. I talked to one of my partners and he said we shouldn't get in the way. We were lucky our employee chose to stay as we were not big enough to really offer more but there was no way we were going to prevent him from deciding for himself which we felt like would be immoral and un-ethical."
It's unfortunate that you are unfamiliar with other countries' business practices and can get modded up for an exagerated but boldly-stated dismissal. The job situation in Japan is not what it is in America. In fact, it's my impression that no other country pampers their IT the way we get pampered, but I'll stick to what I know.
In Japan, when you join a company, the job is your life. Your friends and family are distant second. 10-12 hour days are the norm. You skip lunch and dinner not infrequently. If you leave at 5, they look at you funny, as though you're not a team player. And, if you're not a team player, you don't get promoted or get raises.
It's virtually impossible to get fired, but I can think of better things to do than languish in an entry level position my entire life. Moving to a new job is difficult, because a primary virtue is Loyalty, and if you quit your old job, how can they expect you to be Loyal to them?
The Japanese are in the process of westernizing to a more individual society. People are just now daring to try to change jobs, and wondering exactly why the hell they're spending so much time on the job. Management is starting to notice this, and I expect they're a bit panicky. Which is unfortunate.
They have a long way to go before they arrive at America's freedom. When I leave work at 8, at least half my office is still here chugging right along. There's nothing like working in Japan for a while to make you appreciate American Corporate Culture. I'm more than looking forward to getting back home.
Couple this with the long hours, the draconian employment contracts, and the insane deadlines, and I begin to wonder if this guy has a serious point.
First off let's get real about the situation, no one is forced to work anywhere, well at least not in the United States. If a company you're working for places you in situations like these, then you are the idiot for staying there at any case. There are jobs out there and anyone who says there aren't is probably under qualified to move along unto another company that is going to treat them better.
As for Draconian contracts, again taking a look back to just two years ago, and even with some companies up to date, one has to stop and give themselves a reality check, scenario: You drive a truck all day breaking your back lifting heavy boxes for 14 hours, salary about 40,000.00. You run around all day trying to catch criminals, average salary for a cop 35,000.00.
Take a look at a typical programmer, Unix admin, network engineer; 50,000 - 150,000.00 without having to break your back, duck bullets, etc. Atop that most companies give you healthy benefits, cool offices, gizmos galore.
Having my fair share of being `around' sometimes I stop and wonder how I even get paid my salary when things have become so easy for me. One thing I always am is humble about the situation since I see how much worse things could be. So to this guy and his write up, I think he took a specific situation overboard without looking at the entire picture.
Want Root?
If the company wants to blank-out the faces, what the hell is wrong with that? How's that "keeping them back"? Employees are free to find other work through whatever means they can. Is it the employer's job to advertise their employees to others? Absolutely not!
The employer's duty is to pay the employee the negotiated salary, stock options and benefits for services rendered. It was a consentual transaction.
Comparing this to slavery only insults those who have been and still are subject to slavery in its true form, and illustrates just how ignorant you are.
In case you need a refresher on what slavery is: slaves are those who are forced to work and produce without consent. They are forced. They have no choice. Attempts to escape captivity results in force, often deadly.
My car gets 40 rods to the hogshead, and that's the way I likes it!
There is still a very strong opinion in Japan that you should spend your whole life in a single company. Sure, that way of thinking slowly changing, but it is still a cultural part of Japan. Change, esp. in Japan, happens slowly. Japanese compaines, which are well known for their high quality (and TQM, etc), value their employees as assets to the company. So, it is in the company's best interest not to broadcast their identities, especially in the current Japanese economic climate. The company is not holding the employess back. They have every right to go and ask different compainies for an offer. Basically, the Japanese managers value lifetime employment. Japanese employees are beginning to value it less.
True story: My (Japanese) girlfriend decided to quit her first job after getting serious sexual harrassment (also very Japanese). When she applied for her next job and had been tentatively confirmed, management changed their minds very quickly in the interview when she told them she left her last job, and they didn't care that it was sexual harrasment.
I think a story like this is almost insulting to the Japanese culture. Before you critisize, try to figure out why. The rest of the world isn't like the US. There is something outside the little box you live in.
Better to stay silent, and let people think you're an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt
Either you're a mid-aged Japanese IT manager with no clue, or you've never worked in Japan and are talking out of your fscking ass! Most Japanese offices (not ALL, but MOST) are so fscking backwards by all modern standards that they'd drive you crazy. The things that happen here are way beyond that of Dilbert and friends, and more like a twisted nightmare from a scene in Alice in Wonderland. You REALLY think that all the employees look forward to those picnics, baseball games, company sponsored vacations and mandatory drinking with the boss!? Most people under 40 would rather do something else in their private time than pretend they actually enjoy it. The only reason they attend and pretend it's any fun is out of fear that they will be labeled a "non-team player" or someone who breaks the "wa" of the team. Don't fool yourself! Most of the younger ones in their 20's agree that only the "ojisan" really enjoy this, because the "ojisan" have spent their entire lives slaving away for the company, and have no clue as to how they could enjoy their private time beyond corporate sponsored events, which includes playing golf with the Bucho or maybe a client. That said, the abuse of corporate power is enough to blow anyone away that's not prepared for living in twisted human rights. There are all sorts of laws that protect employees (although not even close to those in the U.S.) but they are rarely put to work. For example, it's not unusual to start working for a company without signing any contract. Asking for one will usually result in funny looks. That doesn't mean there isn't a contract though. Company rules and contract contents will change according to whatever the employer feels like. And don't even think that labor unions work in Japan either, since the union leaders are usually in bed with the company's management. Going to the authorities with complaints about illegal employment practices usually isn't worth it either. The authorities will agree to issuing a letter to the employer demanding compliance with the law, but it'll probably get you fired. Sure, you can sue your employer, but do you know how much that costs? Of course, I'm just a stupid, blunt and demanding Gaijin, so what do I know!