My Japanese Manager Story Part 2

In the previous article, I wrote about my Japanese manager.
The Japanese Boss from Hell >>

In this article, I'll discuss more about my manager from hell.

The Ever-Changing Schedule

The manager I had at my first job did a lot of shady things. I touched on some of the things a bit in the first article about her. Regarding the classes at my school, I said my schedule was always different. As I stated, I had my main schedule which consisted of about 31 or so hours. I DID have those classes on my schedule, HOWEVER, every day there was a new class added that I had absolutely no idea about. If the manager had prepared me before the class, like a few days before, I would have been fine. The issue, for me, arose BECAUSE she didn't give me any time to prepare. She would tell me, when I arrived, that I had a new class in an hour. She did this EVERY SINGLE TIME she wanted me to teach a class that wasn't on my schedule.

It's Not Her Fault, The Parents Keep Doing This

At first, I was very forgiving, I thought, maybe it's not her fault. They called her on short notice to schedule the class, and she had no choice BUT to ask me.... WRONG. One day the manager asked me to teach a class, YET AGAIN, last minute. I was getting fed up at this point, I complained to my coworkers about this. I said I don't know why the students are calling to schedule so late! But my coworker said, " She called yesterday morning to ask about the class. The manager had scheduled the class. I don't know why she didn't tell you then." That's when I knew that I had been played. It didn't matter how in advance the classes were scheduled; my manager didn't tell me. Why you may ask??? I STILL don't know to this day! I think it was to keep me angry and anxious. She saw how I reacted EVERY TIME she told me I had a new class that day. I think it was a punishment if I ever did anything to upset her. It was for her to let me know that she had the "power". Which was actually not true at all.

The Trainer is Coming! This Will Solve Everything!

I had complained about her at my follow-up training, and my coworkers complained about her as well. So, the company called themselves conducting an "investigation" into our school. My trainer, who was American, spent 3 days with my coworkers and I, it was fun. But after 3 days, what did she do?? Did she reprimand my boss for keeping us in a hostile work environment? NOPE.
Instead, she told my coworkers and I to have a binder ready for the classes, IN CASE the manager gives us classes on the fly...sigh. It was useless.

Why No Change?

Why hadn't my boss been reprimanded for her behavior you may ask.... well it's because of her sales. She had one of the highest grossing schools at the company. It didn't matter if she made up student names, or student classes, or if there were student names on your schedule that you never met. It didn't matter if she billed the parents for material they hadn't asked for, it didn't matter if she billed the parents for classes their children weren't taking. Yes, she did all of this. And it certainly didn't matter that she was often rude to the parents. Yes, none of this mattered. It didn't matter if ALL the staff were miserable…. because the sales were great. This is something that I can't understand about Japanese culture, and something that I refuse to understand and accept. In my opinion, it’s simply unacceptable. You may think that it's a difference in culture, I however beg to differ. In Japan, treating your employees as children or as incapable is the norm. Having the manager yell at a coworker, or you, is the norm. Being reprimanded in front of your coworkers is acceptable. But I refuse to accept this.

Reflection

I am currently going through almost, but not quite the same situation now. I don't believe that if someone is your senior, or if they are your manager, that it gives them the right to disrespect you as a person. In Japan it's quite normal, but I won't fall victim to this. I have more stories regarding this manager, and other things I've experienced during my time working in Japan. If you want to know more, stay tuned.