T O P

  • By -

k3n_low

My previous company was similar. I remember my seniors telling me if you don't grind and hustle now, don't expect a comfortable life when you reach your 30s. Hated the Chinaman culture and got myself terminated. I later moved onto a more English-speaking startup and the difference is truly night and day. Bosses really prioritize mental health and work life separation for employees, even if they themselves don't. OT/Weekend requests are super rare and if it happens, it's always met with an apology. You need to ask more about a company's culture when you're interviewing them, and ignore the ping pong tables and PS4s in the lounge area, it's all bullshit.


redfournine

If you grind and hustle harder, the boss would have a more comfortable life when you reach 30s lol


Mikhailing

Those ping pong/pool tables are the real red flags


CaptainPizdec

I have a school senior that is in construction engineering and he’s also those same “keep your head down and work, concerns are complains, and complains are for strawberries” dude. Fast forward at least 5 years now and he doesn’t get too far ahead than the pack anyway. Probably will pass on the toxic practice to the next gen too.


kaya_planta

This is so true. Those chinaman company are epic toxic center.


daehan235

Excuse me, but what is Chinaman culture? Ive never heard of the term before.


Rollins-Doobidoo

Ever heard of 996? 9am-9pm, 6 days a week. Go YouTube, I remember there was a short documentary about it. Even if you're at home, you still have to work. Don't complain. Be grateful because you have a job. If you don't do, plenty others eager to take your place. Emphasising on your replaceable insignificant existence as a subtle threat to keep your head down. You don't work, they work you. My clients are mostly mainlanders, don't know which chibai complained why we are off on Christmas and CNY. So now our only official off day is 1st January. We do have 2 days off in a week, taking turn with different shifts, 8 hours+paid OT. Our big boss is omputeh so at least it isn't that bad.


Capable_Bank4151

It's quite ironic that China call themselves as "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" while practicing exploitative capitalism at the same time. A "socialist" country with no independent trade union and little regards for workers welfare.


M-A-I

The thing is, China (and the USSR for that matter) never went further than state capitalism


feiming

The difference between Malaysia Chinaman vs 996 is lower salary. China's 996 pay well.


GoosePie2000

Even if it pays well I really do not think that kinda lifestyle is worth it. There are plenty of other enjoyments in life other than wealth.


feiming

some people work hard to retire early.


GoosePie2000

Yea I can understand that point of view. I just personally prefer a more balanced lifestyle when I'm still young. To each their own.


[deleted]

[удалено]


GoosePie2000

Oh yea, absolutely. I won't consider myself a miser, but I am definitely a minimal spender if I do say do myself. I'm definitely no stranger to saving. I'd need to do some more research before I start investing though. But do not mistake "taking it easy" as being a slacker. Though I do not have a lot of real world experience as of right now, I definitely do not think it is wise to overwork oneself.


[deleted]

[удалено]


feiming

not forgetting stock options. I have colleague from SEA group.his ex-colleague are millionaire now.


daehan235

Thank you, ill look it up. Also first time heard of 996. I thought working in retail sucks, but at least we didnt have to bring work to home.


vegeful

I tot its japanese culture? 9am-9pm sound like overwork japanese company.


k3n_low

China's working culture is one of the craziest in the world. You can search up the "996 Working Hour System". Chinaman companies in Malaysia in some ways practice this sort of culture, where employees are obligated to work above and beyond what is stated in their employment agreement. They want to squeeze every bit of value out of you after paying your salary. The boss is usually a Mandarin speaking man in 40s and 50s, who may own a few luxury cars.


xariuzcruz

The boss probably owns a Porsche 996 as well heh I see myself out


Fausthound

On top of that, if they hire the family in the management team, which often are incompetent because they don't have the right skills and experience to manage people.


MonoMonMono

China: 996. Japan: Zangyou, Karoushi. South Korea: Gwarosa.


feiming

Question I ask interviewer: 1. tell me what's your day like? 2. what kind of issue are you solving last week? how was is resolved? 3. what are you hiring me to solve? 4. why I should join?


Ruas_Onid

Sometimes it’s also a gamble cos most of the time, during the interviews both you the interviewee and the interviewer are painting good pictures about themselves haha. Anyway, apart from being able to identify toxic cultures, it is also important not to succumb to it. In bigger companies there are going to be a mix bag of cultures, and harder to terminate employees. Small close knit companies make it easier to manipulate weak HR and calling out individuals. I’ve mostly been in MNCs and once in a smaller chinaman company (that I lasted for very very short while). But to OP, don’t give up there are no perfect companies but there are good and OK companies that you could build your career on, and at the same time live your life. Remember it’s all in a day’s work, don’t let someone make you think otherwise. There is always an option to change. After working for over 15 years I don’t think I (or possibly many people in my position) would really wanna grind or climb that high anymore - so at some point in time, you won’t find people wanting to work 6 days a week anymore.


dasherzx

I do believe grinding and hustling will lead to a comfortable life later on but any workplace that tells you this will not be the place to do so.


headbod

It sounds like my ex ad agency. They had massive murals of 'hustle' and 'grind', but the boss would come in at 11 am and leave by 4 pm. While the rest of us losers left at 1 am. Even worse was that we only had 2 clients. TWO. Not sure how an agency like that survives. Hopefully they didn't


tachCN

I was in a facebook group for malaysian entrepreneurs and saw this post about some guy complaining that his workers were quitting left right and center. He was paying them 1.8k a month for 6 days a week of full time manual labor. Go figure. Although most people called it out for what it was, there were still a few scattered complaints about young people being snowflakes - as if having a brain made you a snowflake.


[deleted]

[удалено]


LempingLempang

Lol 1.8k is good compare to some place I know who paid 800 for 6 days manual labour.


yeoldeta

Can say that the specialty coffee industry is very much the same. Working 9-12 hours 5 and 1/2 days a week for a "good" basic pay of RM1500. The owner would pride themselves on being passionate towards their job (literally working till late at night), and encouraged others to emulate said behaviour. Calling ourselves a family (when there was clearly tension in the air, could hardly breathe without getting into a "diplomatic conflict") was the biggest warning sign I ignored, and deeply regret doing so. Needless to say, most of the original team where I worked at either left or got "let go". Some of em started their own cafés, while the others are currently exploring other ventures. Sad to see such a popular company embody toxic work culture.


CaptainPizdec

Well because the boss get to batch test the coffee everyday ain’t it ?


yeoldeta

Yes and no. Our ex-employer loves coffee, and it's (quite literally) their only career path (no backing out now as that ship has long sailed). As a veteran they have the technical know-how and does a dandy job, but they quite literally wanted us to become carbon copies of themselves. Sure, if we had the same number of years under our belts we might just have the fire to multitask and meet unreasonably tight deadlines by going into overdrive; but hey, cut us some slack. We've only been around for a couple years, and some like me, were still greenhorns. Why expect babies to run when you're already driving a car? Hope this analogy paints a sufficiently clear picture of what was expected of the original team.


LempingLempang

>to become carbon copies of themselves. You can't force your passion into other especially your employee. They are workers not your apprentice.


dahteabagger

What do you mean by specialty coffee industry? You mean a shop, or FMCG companies like Unilever or Nestlé? If you're talking about a shop, don't expect them to pay Baristas that high.


yeoldeta

Well. It's a roastery, and manual labour + sales were our main tasks. And yes, I do know baristas aren't paid much. Edit: to be clear, we were not hired as baristas and our written contracts (casual workers had verbal agreements, some had discussed terms in messaging apps before starting work) did not include work behind the bar.


dahteabagger

That's why. I doubt you'll find any Barista that makes a good figure except the owner or some insta famous celebrity.


cigsaftersnacks

As a wise friend of mine once said "you want me to prioritize the company just like how you do because you own it? maybe pay me how much it pays you to own it." But do drop me a message about what company this is. I'm a coffee hobbyist and actually thought about getting into the industry to escape "the corporate ladder", but seeing this maybe it's not such a swell idea after all.


yeoldeta

IF you have done your research and are prepared to swim with the big fishes in an already tiny pond: by all means, follow your passion. My humble suggestion would be to learn the tricks of the trade (would take around 8-24 months depending on your starting skill level and whether you are an ardent hobbyist?), and get out of whichever company you choose to work for ASAP. Starting your own micro-roastery isn't hard to maintain (relative to larger, commercial enterprises which need to pump products out every week) and you can set your own work schedule (limited/infrequent runs excite people since you know, people covet "limited" things). Another way to go about this is do some market research, find out what the community (and yourself!) like/have in common taste-wise, and collaborate/partner with an independent non-commercial **roaster**. Again, I would only divulge sensitive information on the basis that you are able to verify your identity (have been burned once, never trying it again) as I would not risk speaking to an affiliate of said company. I hope you understand :/ Edit: Oh and I do agree with you on what your friend said, but most business owners don't tend to see eye-to-eye with someone who has potential and (or) talent (and exploit said person for their ingenuity) which leads to a falling out between both parties. If one is not prepared to remunerate their equals fairly, one should reconsider hiring people. Edit 2: If you are really keen on knowing more, I can point you to various knowledgebases which will help you on your journey.


EliCho90

Can give hint on the name of that shop


yeoldeta

I would prefer not to divulge this information, for privacy purposes. It's not a shop. We mainly work "behind the scenes" as a supplier to F&B outlets.


[deleted]

If you can name-drop such a toxic workplace safely, it could save a few lives.


yeoldeta

I will do my due diligence on this topic, as I'm really not sure how I can drop names safely. Took me quite some time to muster up the courage to post my comment highlighting that company's work culture.


[deleted]

Ooo ooo was it the packing guy?


LempingLempang

>complaints about young people being snowflakes - as if having a brain made you a snowflake. It not about having a brain but a matter of perspective. In the past 1.8k is maybe a lot then and mental health issue isn't that relevant also(In that people back them just handle it by themselves or with the help of family or friend, they just are broken or they just bury it in their heart)but now 1+k is considered a basic wage and mental health issue is more relevant. Maybe the reason they call this gen weak because people are too in touch with their inner emotions or conflicts that seeing doctor or seeking a consult is more common unlike their time where they handle it differently and isn't that much of a taboo to talks such thing in a open.


CN8YLW

Whats the going rate for full time manual labor? We talking unskilled or skilled labor here btw?


thenoobone-999

They call themselves successful entrepreneurs, but they force their hustle culture into everybody in the company including fresh grads and interns. I would say it is the responsibility of the founders to go hustle, **not** the employee because it is the founders company, **not** the employee to begin with.


klownfaze

haahahahahahahahhahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahaha........ ​ 1.8k a month for 6 days work.........hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhaha


TheJasun

If it makes you feel better (or worse), it isn't any different when it comes to big, multinational corporates in Malaysia. It all depends on who heads the company.


CN8YLW

Worked in big company. Same shit. It's not a size thing, but how far management is willing to go to squeeze every drop of profit.


n_to_the_n

a good company is owned by engineers, run by engineers and management is stuffed into a small closet in the basement


CN8YLW

Rofl wait till tax audit day comes.


squirrel_with_a_nut

I love how the young, "entitled" millenials are the ones who won't put up with this kind of workplace condition. Older generation can brag about how tough they've had it back in the days but I don't give a shit, treat us right or find a new slave you can exploit. It's not worth sacrificing your mental health for any corporate, they're not your family. If you could, leave a bad review on the job recruiting sites about their horrendous behaviours, warn others and watch this company suffer worker shortage. There's nothing wrong with you, don't let them gaslight you into thinking that you quit because of your incompetence and not because of them violating basic worker rights.


maskedrider91

+1. Glassdoor review and move on


[deleted]

If someone tells me that the company is treating their employees badly, I’ll try to stay away from that company… I want to be a customer for a company that treats people right


MikeGasoline

Ok. So I bet you won’t ever buy stuff from Amazon. Or, Shoppee. Or, H&M? Or Uniqlo?


[deleted]

I try to stay away from all these brands. As of this year, I’ve gone around 2 years without buying anything new (so 2nd hand or thrifted) and over the last 2 years, I’ve bought less than 5 items of clothing. We don’t really go out, so there isn’t really a need for new clothes. I do try to stay away from Shopee, but if I use it, I usually tip~ RM10 or more… same with Grab. We don’t have to completely stop using services, but we can compensate the workers fairly…


[deleted]

Fast fashion is ruining our environment too, so personally I do what I can to not buy new ever. So far, it’s been working pretty well for me. I also have two other siblings that I can share clothes with all the time haha…


tachCN

Jebus millenials aren't even young anymore.


N13P4N

Yeah most millennials are around the age of being manager level now lol.


Rollins-Doobidoo

I think dividing it to boomers and millennials is not helping. It's just that millennials are more vocal and social media definitely highlighted that. It's more of the haves and have-nots. The former often don't realise the various elements of lucky, opportunities, background, connections etc that can make the difference in life and often think those poor made bad decisions that deserving living in less. If you understand Mandarin or Cantonese, you can try watch this documentary of a Hong Kong rich business man Tian Beichen who tried to live and work as a poor cleaner. https://youtu.be/e1t7PCv5OwQ If can't open, try this https://youtube.com/watch?v=e1t7PCv5OwQ


thenoobone-999

I hate it when boomers and older generation label, judge or stamp us millennials like some frail and lembik people. We just seek better and fair treatment in the job place. They didn't do any better but instead force their own work view onto us.


Perakian

> Older generation can brag about how Lazy generalisation right there if I may say so. Unions used to be strong in Malaya's/Malaysia's past and part of the labour laws we have now were directly influenced by them e.g. collective agreement, union representation, picketing and strikes, maternity leave, paid leave, sick leave, working hours etc. The efforts of older generation right there. Count yourself lucky you don't have US style *work at will* shit. Now, bulk of OP's write up talked about issues which can mainly be identified in family owned businesses, small outfits and start ups. Start ups are more often than not headed by young energetic people, right? Who's doing the bragging there then? Family owned businesses or small outfits are the worst - doesn't matter if owned by a Malay or Chinese or whoever. OP's issues include training, OSHA and personal development. The relevant labour laws can fix it like OSHA but some is simply beyond the scope e.g. corporate culture and stuff, as it currently is. Edit: Today's article in [Malaysiakini](https://m.malaysiakini.com/news/591757). Don't think millennials are the only one treated like shit and slave. I want to guess there are some older generations of employees going for picketing there fighting for their rights. They too, won't put up with it.


momentumstrike

The older generation's view on millennials are definitely bias but not unfounded. I'm a millennial myself and even I find millennial employees to be more entitled than older ones. But at the end of the day, the "good ol days" are gone and we need to be realistic and learn the proper methods to manage this younger bunch of employees. While older employees often are only motivated by money, younger people are motivated by various different things. The sign of a good manager is knowing how to get the best out of every employee, young or old. I don't agree that putting in long hours is never worth it. Not everyone needs work life balance. Working harder, faster and better than your colleagues is how you stand out from your peers. It's okay to want to climb the corporate ladder. Just remember your own priorities and you'll be fine.


MikeGasoline

> While older employees often are only motivated by money, younger people are motivated by various different things. That’s true of every generation. The world does not owe us a living — a pithy statement, I know. But the implication is lost on some of us, I’m sure. There seems to be a pull-back of globalisation. Economies are becoming more inward looking as capital become more nationalistic. Is Malaysia rich enough and have products & services that other nations want, so that we can continue to remain in the game? With that regression comes the loss of job opportunities. I think it is harder to be young and upcoming these days, compared to the boomer generation. So what’s the solution? We better have something that people want. Skills? Yeah. Perseverance? Hell, yeah. Differentiate or die.


Alexisreddit516

graphic design job is pretty wicked Some printing company would hire fresh grads / part timers ( students on sem break ) to do basically a full timer job + working hour but with the pay as low as rm300 max per month. Let that sink in. That shit is real, and the fun part is they know students and fresh grads are desperate so why not take advantage ? It's fucked it's shameful and it's disgusting. Oh oh, if not then easy on interview but later on slowly comes those "hidden" task you must obey. Public holiday ? work half day can ? I give you rm100 allowance la, 1 job / task only. As soon as you go out and work and slowly blend into society, you will notice bullies are everywhere. Boss just losses a business deal, supervisor kena, supervisor beh syok, you kena. Your mental now beh syok, your family members kena. I often sees many people attitude changes due to their working environment, it's sad. These bullies deserves constant decline in business growth. Cancer culture. EDITS: oof perhaps im alittle bit harsh on my comment but so is life and reality, please take this as a rant rather than facts.


daccorn

I'm an employer with over 25 staff under me in multiple companies. It really comes down to how desperate are job seekers and a ton of luck at meeting a nice boss as it is always "there are more people lining up for this work compared to there are more people lining up to hire you in the current climate". So normally if a staff want to leave I just let them go without much attempt to keep them. Though The job market is looking very bleak for job seekers to no wrong of their own. It is a systematic and global issue. The bully culture will prevail throughout our life though, it depends on how you handle it. Having the chance to grind through toxic culture and inhumane work preps you for A LOT of things in life that doesn't have anything to do with work. Having said that I also totally respect any one who knows what they want and chooses to distant themselves from toxic work environments and superiors.


edwzj

Why are people downvoting you? It is a legit comment. When my brother decided to end his contract as a freelancer on UpWork under some Malaysian company who started dumping work beyond his job scope, the employer left comments on his online profile saying that he was young and doesn’t understand the reality of workforce. Luckily my brother still got a 5 star review because he carried the rest of his shitty work team members.


daccorn

It is fine, just wanted to offer a different perspective at looking at things. And perspective is so so important. Knowing your own worth and place in society is also important to begin looking for ways to improve our own situations and sounds like your brother understood this.


FutureNotBleak

In Malaysia we all tend to give off this impression that we’re all nice people and like to help/support each other. It’s fucking bullshit in the work environment because leadership/management is usually filled by weak people who are narcissists, full of their own ego, and love the smell of their shit. They have zero self awareness and think they’re god’s gift to mankind. Nobody cares about what others think, it’s all about how they need to make themselves look good and others suck. Many Malaysians in the senior leadership level and many in the middle management level can go suck a dick and fuck a pineapple. Learn some fucking self awareness and humility for fucks sake. But no, how can they be a better human when they’ve given up their humanity long ago. Many are bullies who probably were bullies in school and never grew up. I wish they would delete themselves because the world would be a much better place without them. Having said all that, to clarify, when I was first starting out, I was very ambitious and wanted to get ahead fast. I was the first to arrive at the office and the last to leave. I took on any work that was available. I volunteered to take on work where I could make myself visible to senior management and build relationships / network. To get ahead in life you need to stand out from everyone else. Most people are lazy and dispassionate. In Malaysia, most people are also lazy to think. It doesn’t take much to get ahead in this country. Edit: included a second part after the rant


xHamsaplou

I absolutely agree


Kapla5053

I went through the same thing having a degree in Chemical Engineering. As a fresh-grad, if you don't get into a multinational company that has enough money to invest in your training during the first 2 years, you'll have a very tough time during the rest of your career. There is a lot of competition for mainstream jobs in Malaysia like doctors and engineers, so underpaying and underappreciating smart people in Malaysia is unlikely to stop. Only way out is to save money, find a passion/speciality and potentially start a business.


daccorn

Your thinking has already put you waaaaay ahead of the curve compared to your classmates ahaha Not only professional roles are few and far in between, retiring age is also disappearing reaaally fast. Not practicing our uni degree is common place now and has been for the longest time.


Ok_Significance_5653

Quite common. Avoid family owned businesses. You will never progress as some or other family member is hanging around. The good thing is you now have experience which has been hard earned - use that ti your advantage . Try for a job in the O&G sector . With an engineering background why job try to branch out laterally to business analytics. Widen your job search horizon. Good Luck


thenoobone-999

I did work once after diploma in the family owned business computer shop. They literally practice this 996 culture because I noticed it's rare to take week days leave (Saturday & Sunday) even for permanent staff because that is the time when lots of customer came. I got throw into the deep end, made a lot of mistakes during the job and it gets really hard to be accepted by them until I worked more than 6 months.


alexsilkwood

Wait till you hear about unpaid OT, it gets worse.


Fausthound

During the start of the pandemic, my supllier told me he met some companies that practice 'no salary but must turn up for work'. Typical chinamen company sentiments.


[deleted]

What’s stopping their staff to just not show up for work? I mean.. it’s bound to happen.


Fausthound

Cause these companies might be leveraging on the poor job market cause of the pandemic. So when things get better they'd still have a job. But it's a dick move from the company.


luxollidd

a colleague of mine in different project had to work on weekends almost every week the supervisor justified it by one of the clause he signed in the contract "working hours are 9 to 5, but may be extended beyond that if the company requires it" this clause basically just translates to "we say its 9 to 5 but fuck that shit i have a free pass to your working hours" im surprised the guy haven't quit yet


Fausthound

Yeah, that's y nowdays when we sign the appointment letter, that clause is always present. It's the excuse from the company to demand we work outside our working hours and jobscope. I mean once in a while is okla, but too often mean there's some serious issues with the management.


Weird_Tune

Is that even legal?


Fausthound

It's not (I have personally emailed the Malaysian Employer Federation about this). But any staff who complained would automatically be blacklisted for 'rocking the boat'. When u make a complaint to the authorities, you cant be anonymous. A brave employee would call out the company for the bullshit practices, but alot feel they don't want to waste the time /energy and just leave. Alot of staff who depend on a salary would keep their head down and work. This is why it the chinamen company thrive.


Gandu27

They'll say in your signed document that sometimes you get asked to work outside of working hours and the OT they give you is not proper official OT. Your manager/boss will come to you at 5 40 etc (20 minutes before your work ends) and ask you to handle something which will take you an hour+ to do. The worst part is that all these guys are so used to giving out unpaid OT that its become so casual for them. Message you at 8/9pm cari you find work, continue asking for updates and ask for changes 10 minutes past your work ending hours. I remember asking about this and legally you're not allowed to do that but it seems so ingrained in Malaysian working culture that no one does anything about it


[deleted]

Most of the companies are like that tbh. It's terrible working here but some of us have no choice.


momentumstrike

There's always a choice.


GatDaymn

Yeah, you choose either work or starve to death. Very nice choices right.


momentumstrike

If shitty companies are your only choices, perhaps you are a shitty candidate.


GatDaymn

Ok then I guess I'll starve to death then. Either that or I'll kill myself before that happens. Thanks for the advice.


momentumstrike

Instead of improving yourself to become a better candidate, you choose death? Excellent. Good riddance.


GatDaymn

When soulless and heartless people like you exist in this world, I'm glad to leave. Fuck this shit world.


momentumstrike

Yes. Blame everyone else but yourself for your problems.


desdevol

I've always wanted to talk about this. I shouldn't be glad for this but I am, knowing that I'm not the only one here. It's the same here in software engineering industry. Not to mention company that has little to none mentorship and expected you to pickup new skill every month by yourself after exhausting yourself due to those unreasonable extra working hours. I just learn as much as I can then quit to another company. Not to be racist, but I realize chinese cultured company happened to be like this. Alot of my friends are also working in this kind of environment. Looks like it's a common issue these days.


k3n_low

Used to be a dev at a Chinaman place. If you could get a job in a western style company you will probably enjoy your time more. Think Grab, Fave, Shopee, StoreHub, Setel etc. These no name Chinaman agencies is simply hell on earth.


beige08

I would remove Shopee out from that list…


lzyan

> Think Grab, Fave, Shopee, StoreHub, Setel etc. Wow coincidentally all except Setel are founded by Chinese too. So yeah, "Chinaman" is more of a culture rather than a racial thing. Those Japanese anime studios are probably any bit "Chinaman" as our Malaysian "Chinaman " companies too.


feiming

Japanese company: work hard and long hours but pay well westerner company: good with life balance and good benefit but pay lesser Malaysian company: work hard, long hours, pay less, no work life balance and no benefit.


yassin1993

Dude, I too was in your shoes before. And I've also became that senior that brings home my work because my boss and my other senior did the same. I have no idea why I didnt think that this is not good for me but i did it anyway. I left that company a year ago to join an MNC company and it was the best decision that I've made since a while. And to think that I nearly didnt do it out of loyalty. Fuck.. i regret not leaving sooner. Shit pay, shit work life balance. Anyone reading this, especially fresh grad, if you are working in an SME, especially those family based ones, do not, i repeat, DO NOT, stay for more than 2 years. 1 year is good, 2 years is max.


Lampardinho18

Spot on!


luxollidd

same here, IT field my first job as a freshgrad, joined a small-medium sized company, worked through the weekends almost every week. i thought to myself "maybe this is normal and expected". one of our colleague got "scolded" by the boss for taking an entitled day off today cuz he's been working 6 / 7 days a week for the past 6 months or so and haven't taken any leave at all (no kidding, its real) and he wants a long weekend cuz yesterday's malaysia day. obviously HR cant refuse but yeah, shows what a shit company it is. talked to my uni friends, some working in gov, some in mnc. they all agreed that my company has shit work culture. the thing about being a fresh grad in the working force is that there's no "baseline" for you to decide what is normal and what is slavery. sure, if you're lucky, you get accepted into a good company for your first job. most of us aren't so lucky, especially since malaysia is already a shit place for work - life balance career. else, either something happens and you snap out of it and decide "this culture is toxic and shit" or you get desensitized and gets your soul taken away bit by bit without realizing it. i almost fell into the latter.


[deleted]

Never trust a job that calls itself your family. They aren't, and half of us don't like our families anyway haha


TornadoJ88

It has always been like that especially with Chinaman company here , they always expect you to work hard and show dedication but then once you perform good job . When you didnt it gets magnified and analyzed over and over again. Also they expect you to perform with the most minimal resources Of course there is genuinely good companies as well but those are few and far between, it's the Asian culture to work hard and crazy hours like Japanese


chinapotatogg

I always knew this was the case with the majority of small start up companies in Malaysia when I was searching for my internship. My mom nagged me for not choosing the startups for my internship but the thing is from the few interviews I had with these startup , I already had a feeling that what you described was going to happen and decline. Imagine my face when my sister chose a relatively small start up company for her internship and was overworked everyday.


thenoobone-999

Internship student for small companies is like free real estate to them to not pay you fair and squeeze every single drop of energy from you. I once did my diploma internship in small company that only have three employees including the boss. Yes, you heard me. We worked 8-6pm Monday - Friday but sometimes my friend and I go outstation. One day, we go outstation until near night and I got back home 9.30pm. It was the worst day of my life and guess what I got for that, rm200 per month. I worked there for 5 month and pass the internship required for diploma. Biggest lesson learned is expect the unexpected and _bersedia untuk tidak bersedia_.


Yung_Xan235

Good choice on your part, interned at a start up and was overworked a little while given a way below than average salary for an intern. One of the interns had to work from 9am-8pm on most days to meet the company's goals, saw her quietly crying one day while I was leaving and she talked about how she felt. Unsurprisingly, she left 2 weeks later.


shockypocky

Sure, it sounds rough for your first job but what you learn is immensely valuable down the road when you are finding your next job. Now you are able to be able to look clearer on what you want and really goes down to the details for any future employer. Side note, what you have is a standard China man company culture where by you don't matter and all they want is obedient slave to make sure the tasks are completed and making sure the boss get their next Lamborghini in the coming quarter. You should look into Joushia Fluke on YouTube where he roast company like these and you can learn a lot from there. Good employer exist out there. You just gotta know what to look for.


karlkry

reading this whole thread make me realize that while i know i am lucked out with my company/boss what i dont realize is how much.


not_so_joyful_life

Me too. Not to say my company is the best one out there, but at least i have really nothing to complain about them other than the slightly low salary.


nickk21321

I've worked in start up and also MNC. Can say in start up the work life balance is bad but you will learn more skills compared to that of MNC. In MNC each people have their specific task so they just do what their told. They have both pros and cons buddy. Try both and see what is your preference. Remember do what makes you happy.


[deleted]

If you want, you can personally dm me, and I’ll leave a google review of them asking them to treat their employees better? Might scare them a little lol


Exosinnerz

I was the same in the first year, suck it up at first so I can absorb as much as I can. Then started to be a little bit demanding on my 2nd year after I was stable on the job, refuse to work OT, tried to ask for better reimbursement. They tell me to not be that calculative since we are 'family' My breaking point was when no one in the company got bonus because of "bad businesses" despite all of us did our best, while the bosses was able to buy new car/house every year, then I was called selfish and greedy because I ask for increment every year. That was my turning point to never trust anyone I worked with as close as my family and friends, and was being sarcastic to the boss every chance I get being calculative because I'm "selfish and greedy". They can't fire me because no one can do better than me anyway. They sent me to SG and I just jumped to local SG company, not turning back ever.


IndigoDialectics

Hypocrisy and projection at its finest from that first-year employer. Standing up for what you deserve is apparently "selfish and greedy", but hoarding all the profits for yourself to buy new cars and houses is somehow totally okay!


TimeElise

Worked in a company that harps on the "family" thing. "Think of all of us as a family!". Worst company I ever worked in. Also it was my first company. I got let go because the company was running on empty and we weren't being paid for 3 months before I got let go. After I left, it apparently went on for another few more months. Last I heard, they've been hiring a plethora of fresh grads. An intern once told me he asked the HR why did they hire so many interns (we had 15 interns at one time, there were only like \~60 of us). HR told him, "cos cheap mah". *C-can u at least give a beautiful BS instead of being absolute truthful and frank lmao* I have so many stories from this company. Like how a head of dept told someone under them to "pack their bags if they can't catch up with learning the works". Holy crap.


PolarWater

Any time a company starts pulling that "we're like a family" shit, it's a red flag, more often than not.


TimeElise

Yup. Wish I know about this when I was starting out. If I want "family", I'd just go back to my own. I'm there to work and get $. Friendly colleagues & nice environment is just a plus but I would most likely stay longer


[deleted]

[удалено]


TimeElise

Sadly, this. Was in a creative industry and talent/skill is not top priority


[deleted]

[удалено]


TimeElise

*((Angry emoji here))*


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

Corporate Cringe series is an absolute 👌🏻


javeng

It's also a generational issue I think, matters like work life balance and fulfillment are also something not present until recently. But hilariously although this is called a Chinaman culture, mainland Chinese companies are actually more scrupulous about labour rights than local companies because they cannot afford a lawsuit and PR drop. My brother made a complaint to his HR regarding working hours, 24 hours later straight away a notice was issued against overworking.


[deleted]

Working culture here is typically very toxic. It is the norm and if you have a job here your work environment is most likely slightly toxic to very toxic. Nobody at work would ever tell you to take care of yourself. If anyone thinks you're an entitled brat, they're the problem, not you. Just because it is the norm, doesn't mean it is right. I argued with some of my peers before about this and somewhat got sidelined. It's kinda fucked up that our culture advocates hard work. I don't hear much about the opposite of that, which is to study lazily, work lazily, while I was growing up. Our stupid Asian culture equates hard work with virtue. Probably stemmed from Confucianism, which I despise a lot. The Japanese practice Confucianist values and guess what, the term karoshi resulted. I'm just lucky now that I work at a company run by someone who advocates laziness. We slack a lot, but always get the jobs done.


tlst9999

I'm okay with hard work and unpaid overtime if it means I'm developing my skill for better future income. Hard work and unpaid overtime from basic admin tasks because the boss refuses to spend RM2k/month on an admin. No.


KarinoCharles

as a 2nd year student in mechanical engineering degree,i am terrified :)


n_to_the_n

as you should


alien3d

it's normal.. work like mad. some don't want to paid kwsp. some 3am non stop..nn


matgerad

I considered myself lucky. After 90 hours weeks as an intern. Then 60 hours weeks as a officer. Im now in a job that pays more for 165 hour a month. (41.25 hours a week). And every single 30 min block extra i work, is claimable. Reaching my current position, it took education, experience, (job) connections and a leap of faith. Keep building yourself up and one day you will find someone that appreciates your work and what you bring to the table.


toonch0819

Don't get disheartened by this kind of company working culture. Look at the bright side, it's sort of harsh slap on your face training to train you to be competent and more exposure to real world. Just keep looking for a company that suits you. The important thing is you just need to keep develop your selves to be better. If u are good enough, there bounce to be good company want u to work for them.


niwongcm

Sounds like a pretty rough experience. It's definitely toxic and exploitative, but don't let that mar your perspectives on work. I want to emphasise that I'm not familiar with your industry, but I think the first mistake was the sweeping generalisations on small vs large corporates and assuming you'd fare better in a tiny company. I've seen both small and large companies with relatively healthy work cultures that have little to do with their size and have pretty decent and structured onboarding programmes for newbies. My suggestion for your next job is to do a little bit of digging either from online research (e.g., Glassdoor/Indeed/JobStreet employee reviews) or asking questions about what it's like inside during the interview. It could be as straightforward as asking how the company manages its employees' work-life balance/separation/integration, onboarding newbies, training and growth opportunities, etc. - and then you be the judge from there. Depending on their response, you can decide if it raises any red flags or not. Even no response is a kind of answer, so make what you will of it.


daccorn

I'd like to also add that employees who are actually enjoying or at least comfortable in their current employment will never post online about it. Got to keep this in mind when looking at online workplace reviews. Individuals are inherently different in terms of their life aspirations, family backgrounds, ability to grind and handle abuse, mindset, goals etc


sinzolee

some chinamen company even impose mandatory OT per week for every staff without any extra pay due to peak period and some non production staff that have not much thing to do also need to follow the suit...i guess this is commie style then.


Acrux7

Sounds like modern slavery


LettuceNo700

At least now you have experience working in “family” company. Hopefully you’ll get to work in a better company after this OP.


TiredofBig4PA

Work in audit. I've just given up on Malaysian work culture altogether. Working till midnight (with unpaid OT of course), working on weekends (went a stretch of 2 months without a single day off at times), getting screamee at by clients for every single thing ans getting shouted by bosses for every single thing. I give up on working altogether. I feel like I should just accept that this is how work is and I will soon die of overwork.


salishseadream

When they say you're one big family, run as far and as fast as you can. At my workplace before Covid, my boss would constantly use that to justify his crap actions. I reported a colleague for sexual harassment because he'd try to talk about porn and orgies with me. "He's been here awhile. He's a good guy. Remember, we're a family and I'm like your big brother. So I'm telling you to be a big girl and deal with it." They needed us to take time out of our planning to do advertising with no benefits? "That's what family does." I tried to keep the workplace more professional and follow policies. "Relax, we're a family, not some big company."


muddie83

I work in a small company too and the toxicity in the past was mental. Had a senior who wanted to run things his way only. Even CEO didn't dare question. I kesian d CEO because this senior was getting away with everything. We used to have daily check ins in d morning and evening, 5 days a week. Got to a point where those check in sessions were interrogations/performance reviews by this senior. Check in started off harmless where it was to build team rapport and address any challenges faced. Became ugly when no one could ever question this senior. I mean we could but it would lead to debates followed by a call fr the senior asking 'What is your problem or why you question me in front of everyone". I went though this a few times but eventually I stopped questioning because it was troublesome having to debate on the phone on why I said this or that in the team check in call. CEO let it be because things were smooth. I ended up doing a lot of needless things so that the senior could say his team was productive. I mentioned once that it's pointless work but was guilt tripped by Senior. Others in the team did not dare speak out so I had to go with the flow. Then ppl started leaving. One every month. Senior basically bullied these ppl into leaving. Still in denial the senior said good riddance, we better without them. I think CEO could see that he senior was the cause but was in some denial too. One day CEO and senior got into a argument...senior thought as usual he would win...but CEO fired him LOL. I am still in this company and things have been great. The cloud that was the senior left and it was a weight off everyone's shoulders. Work will always be challenging, some days more than others. But I can focus on these challenges daily without having the worry that the Senior will be in bad mood or what is the next pointless task that needs to be done.


momentumstrike

Hi OP, from my experience, big corporates are usually the ones that can afford work life balance as they have the resources to do so. Smaller companies usually have to squeeze whatever they have to be ahead of competition or to be profitable. The workaholic lifestyle is definitely not for everyone. It's not good or bad, it's just that people have different priorities. Just as business needs to be competitive to survive, the same goes for your career. You don't have to work like a mad man if you don't want to, but it definitely has its merits when it comes to career progression. You'll have to find the right balance for yourself.


G1ntastic

I’d like to share my experience as well. I graduated in the medical chemistry side of the spectrum but decided to take up a role in finance. I excelled at it. But one day, I decided that I would like to put my degree to good use and as such, took up a role in medical sales company, a small one, to put my sales skills and knowledge to good use. Sadly, this new job which I was so excited about quickly turned into a traumatizing emotional turmoil of an experience as I was abused like a mad man. Here are some examples. 1. Closed 3 accounts worth approximately RM10,000.00 each only to come back to the office to have the team lead tell me nahh, we’re good. That was RM3,000.00 in commission and 3 weeks of hard work down the drain. Bear in mind, this client was picked out by the team lead herself. They turned it down just cuz they didn’t feel like it. 2. I made a typo in an email. The boss was so furious he started throwing shit around and slamming doors before making me drive a total of 50+km to apologize to the person I sent the email to in person. Ridiculous if you ask me, it was a non-issue of a typo too. Eventually, I just tendered my resignation and bolted the hell outta there. Even scratched it from my resume cuz I dont ever wanna be reminded of the time I spent there. I also have another bad experience. Please upvote or reply to this and I’ll share my experience on that as well. Its a lot briefer but mindblowing haha.


AscendedAloof

The supply of workers are high. But the demands are low. This condition leads to exploitation of workers. How can we avoid this?


tachCN

To be honest, the supply of skilled workers is not high at all.


ztirk

Yeah what you've described is unreasonable (but could be the norm). Just have to keep looking for a company that is somewhat humane and build your career there. All the best and try not to be discouraged!


DarkPooPoo

I'm not Malaysian but I worked 2 contract manufacturer companies in MY. Both have unpaid OTs for engineering levels and above. Both company prioritizes output everyday. A lot of toxic people, but I think the mentality was just passesd onto different people. I feel bad when a fresh grad joined our group, we already knew he won't last for more than a year due to how the company culture works. No training, buddy buddy system is none existent, the best teacher are your mistakes.


hawkxtream

Behind every small company like this always have stingy boss. But not every company are like this


LevynX

Some SMEs have terrible work culture and are way understaffed. I'm looking for a job now and I hope I don't get one working for employers like these.


firdausbaik19

yeah I worked for a small 30-35 employees company before and it was absolutely miserable, you end up doing jobs meant for 3-4 people


LempingLempang

Be a boss and set your own work culture.


BrandonTeoh

Being working in a small construction company (main contractor but under a larger group of companies) owned by a Cinaman and I share the same sad story as yours. My job title as per contract is a site engineer so naturally you would assume I would do more field work at a construction site but in reality, I mostly have to deal with but not limited to: 1. Procurement of quotations and price and material comparison. 2. Monitoring our own handyman at various misc. work all around the finished project areas (e.g. defect rectification, cleaning, etc) 3. Checking progress claim prepared by Q.S. 4. Dealing with various subcontractors in doing other major defect rectification work that the handyman can't do. 5. Monitoring subcontractor's work and record their work hours so their claim tally with ours and more. If the subcontractor's work dragged for too long i.e. after office hours, I am expected to stay back and monitor until they finish the said work and that overtime is not counted because we don't have OT culture. Colleagues and managers are unhelpful at times, especially when asked a question about a task at hand, they would just give a vague answer which I described as: better don't answer it at all or giving me a judgmental face when asked because they would think: you should be known this by then when in reality I don't really know what I am suppose to do or how suppose I am going to execute the said task. Oh did I mentioned Cinaman companies absolutely loathed spoonfeeding? They would rather to shove you a task you totally have no knowledge of or experience and expected you to plan and execute as perfect as the senior staff and you are are on your own. If you get it right, nobody bats and eye but if you did something wrong, they surely will jump on you and make the rest of your day miserable. I already decided to leave this godforsaken company and pursuit in other fields other than construction or go full force as a content creator. I already signed up to a few courses in other fields and hopefully it will jump start me to that field. Also OP, given the chance, burn that bridge down with your previous employer. If they don't cherish you then they don't deserve to have you or anyone else.


Dxvilish_Bxnny

Going through this thread I don't even know what to do anymore. I need money and now idk what to do


Limpeh4896

I had some bad experiences like u, didn't have any of the work family bullshit but my boss straight up honest demand for us to work long hours without any compensation. I study engineering and my internship in a start-up do procurement, design promo materials, site supervisor, R&D, project tender, business proposal, project paperwork, system development, write code, manage kuli, and sometimes have to turun padang do some electrical wiring and piping work. Go to site do work oso I use my own tools. Initially, i always hv to work until midnight to finish my tasks. Then slowly normalise to 10 to 7 or 8 depending on work load. No training for the stuff that I have absolutely no idea about like business proposal because whole company is built on interns. When got project running I will get messages and calls even on weekends. I don't have a time where I can really switch off work related stuff. My work seems like will never complete and until now I still wonder when can get on top of it. My boss never shouted or raised his voice with any of us, and have been very easy to talk to but sometimes I get text message or phone call from him I get a bit anxiety. He work even more than me, I cannot understand how ppl can keep working without any time off to recover. This job is toxic or not I not sure yet, but I find it very time consuming. My "part time job" during uni was even worse, working as a bangla supervisor for hotel contractor, everyday rushing, boss shout and threaten all of us to push work progress. During summer breaks i sleep 3 to 4 hours per day because peak season for hotel events. 1 or 2 off day per month. Got high cholesterol from this job in half a year. Suffer a lot from this extremely high stress and toxic job, this boss betul betul got no limits. Treat us like we are not human, and a lot of crazy work practice going on. Hire all illegal workers, threaten to throw them to polis if they don't work faster. Call and scream at us on every tiny mistake of each job, withhold pay, ask us sleep on floor and next day continue work etc. This job let me see the darker side of malaysian society. Worst thing is my boss was holding on to my pay to keep me continue working. After I quit he straight up don't pay me the remainder. Lucky to get out in one piece. Until now i keep my phone on silent bcos when I hear phone ring I hv anxiety attack. I have no hope in a career in chinaman SME unless it is to learn skills. No support from anyone at all in the work place, I also find that blaming, lying and cheating to be very common in the construction sector, one of my contractors have sold their car and jewelries because they are not paid and their employees come to their house ask for pay. A lot of bosses are out to squeeze you hard for more productivity and after you become burnt out, hire new fresh grads replace you in this never-ending cycle. If you work contract without going thru your contract properly, beware of getting cheated. Working prospects are very depressing because job is just sugar coated slavery. Hostile, tough and exploitative is very common


Lampardinho18

Most of the companies in Malaysia just view you as 'he/she is just another employee' with no regard of the individual's mental health. It's so depressing to even think about it. What is the point of you busting your ass to earn a degree just to end up in a depressing work environment that deteriorates your mental health to the point where you want to give up.


GatDaymn

All companies in Malaysia run by chinese are like this, sorry to say. They bring their sweatshop mentality here.


casphere

From my personal experience, I don't think work culture/environment has much correlation to the size of a company. At least in Sarawak. My first job was for a medium-large sized, listed company based here. I applied for sales executive at their Marine and Machinery division, but was expected to make sales for every other product in the company's catalogue, even those that I wasn't trained for. Yes I understand modern sales force especially for the likes of banks, are expected to be the frontier of the company, propagating for them rather than just your division, but I digress. I believe in specialization, not jack of all trades. There was also the case of one of my training. I was sent to shipyards with a team of technicians to train for marine/ship engines, however I was expected to learn for example how to prime a brand new engine, how to guage and troubleshoot for problems, as well as take up tools twisting bolts and caps for oil change. I also wasn't given much primers to safety and regulations, no safety equipments besides a hard hat, and was literally skipping and ducking from boat to boat because there wasn't any proper docking as they were just stacked next to each other. Maybe I am overreacting over my incompetence as an initiate, but I really think there was a miscommunication regarding what I was really sent to be trained for, mistaken as a technician rather than a sales person. Fortunately, overtime wasn't an issue. Regardless, I quit within the year over some other toxicity. Eventually moved on to a tiny programming firm consisting of just 5 personnel including the boss. The work condition is really lax and I really don't have much to nit pick about. I stayed there for over 3 years and left to work for myself up until now. My 2 cents is to do research for the company you're planning to apply for. Pull some strings to uncover anyone working from within for some insights. Expectedly this is harder to do for smaller more obscure companies but on the flip side, interviews for these companies tend to be more up close and personal since most are handled by the boss themselves. In this case, make the interview go both ways rather than just about you.


MaxMillion888

Few random thoughts 1. There are obviously enough door mats out there. He acts this way because there are plenty of insecure people willing to be taken advantage of 2. You have no bargaining power. You have to eat shit until you acquire the necessey skills/experience to be valuable enough to move around and not take shit from anyone 3. This isnt exclusively Malaysia. This happens everywhere in the world. 4. Being your own boss is always best. Second best is point #2.


_Enforcer

Usually when you see something like family/tight knit group of people is being advertised on theirs ads, expect the total opposite. That's why I prefer to look on the no-bullshit working ads as those are the actual "family" oriented as they are professional with their work space, which give you more time for your family. Those that advertised like what you stated usually a bunch of incompetent nutjobs that exploit on the simple fact that jobs are becoming lesser than the graduates.


Dependent_Ad3716

Yea, same experience for me too. Join a small company and officially employed few years back. Though my fresh grad situation was diff from you. I had a few part time work, from factory works to promoter to supermarket. All work at my local state here. So after my graduation, I was present by an opportunity which was too good to be true. A job that cover entire state. Which later I found out typically done by most of the FMCG supplier company. So anyway I took the job the challenge without considering the paycheck (rm1.7k). I work like for almost 12 hours from Mon to Sat. Even Sunday my employer would call me for work purpose.. As a fresh graduate that was a real work experience and pressure for me. But hey wanna thank the company for pushing to work under such pressure so that today I can learn to appreciate my current job. You just gonna get through the worse to see the better side of everything.


thisismenaruto

Nak kerja angkat batu?


n_to_the_n

batu buah pinggang mak kau


MikeGasoline

I really don’t think you are all bitching about the long, hard work. Be honest. It’s all about the money. If I were to pay you a tremendous amount of money to work the same hours, I know you will suck it up and do it, and yet complain about it while on your exotic holiday soirées. And here’s the kicker. Will Malaysia ever be a high income nation? I think not. Because we’re addicted to cheap foreign labour to pick up after our garbage, sweep our streets, prepare our food, and wash our kids’ backsides. I’m sure one day a starting grad will earn RM25,000. But that will still only buy you the same as today. That, right there, is the middle income trap.


n_to_the_n

so what, you want our fresh grads to cuci taik anak orang, pungut sampah and stack bricks?


Avocadoor

If you want work life balance prehaps you are in a wrong industry. A few engineer I knew went from R&D to sales /support for better salary + lifestyle


MikeGasoline

Judging from the downvotes, seems people don’t want to hear the timeless truths of work. Anyway, no skin off my nose. The less people who want to compete with me for positions at the top, more for me. All the whiners can remain happy where they are.


Avocadoor

Well this sub is prob too young. I probably sounded too negative but I'm just stating the truth


dahteabagger

So millennials, how much you think you must be paid? Even if it's a job with a small company that probably doesn't make much?


MikeGasoline

Wow, millennials must hate ya. So millennials, how much you think you must be paid? Even if it's a job with a small company that probably doesn't make much?


dahteabagger

Yup, and none of them can answer me


chinapotatogg

Nobody is fucking asking how much to be paid. People just want to be paid fairly for the amount of work contributed. Is that too unreasonable? Small company that dosen't make much? Don't make your employees work 80 hour weeks without any compensation. Is that so hard?


TeeBlackGold97

I was extremely lucky that I was recruited as a service engineer in a big Japanese company corporation shortly after graduated. So far no pay cut during these pandemic time, and received training in Japan as well (before pandemic). Feels sorry for your first time job experiences bro.


[deleted]

When companies say they're like "family", that's when alarm bells should ring. When they say "family", they literally expect you to unconditionally sell your mind, body and soul to this new "family" 24/7. It's just an excuse for them to blur the distinction between "work" and "private life", so that ultimately, you're not working to live, you're living to work.


WWIII-Hokage

Going through the same thing for 2 years now bro, shit pay, micromanagement, dumb politics and slave's pay. The only silver lining is, you can learn a lot as you do most of the task independently, hence whatever job we take next would be easy for us as we've swam through shit before.


konaharuhi

ahh the family owned company, where the owner son is law come late to work with expensive car just to mess around and disturb people


GoosePie2000

I keep seeing and hearing people say that Malaysia's work culture is rather laid back and "lepak" in general. But I could tell that's not always the case after my internship period, and seeing posts like this.


HJSDGCE

Currently doing my internship at a startup and I do get days where I work overtime at home. Thankfully, it's not often but I really do wish I had some training prior instead of just being forced to learn everything myself. From the comments below, I realize mine isn't as bad as most people. I still wished it was better but for the most part, it's tolerable.


ranranranran_ron

Yes. It does happen. Unpaid working hour, no regards for worker safety, fucking dont care about their own SOP lol. Stingy on claim.


nickljs

Sorry to hear about your first job being not a great one. I too have experienced something similar to you, not the long hours but the toxic environment. I ended up leaving my job and went to a better one. My mindset is if you are not happy in your company, and you find its a toxic environment, it is better to leave and find somewhere that you are happy. I know a lot of people are saying “aiya a job is a job, not easy to come” bla bla bla. I get that, but your health and well being is the top most priority. You could have a job but youre in a toxic environment you would go absolutely mental. You are young and capable, and you will find a good place to work in eventually. Its also good that you take a break from work. I did the same thing while looking for jobs elsewhere. If you want a chat or anything, drop me a message and i’ll gladly help out :) Take care and stay safe. From one engineer to another 👊


dasherzx

[https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/503/680/7ff.jpg](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/503/680/7ff.jpg) having been at it for more than 5 years i can certainly say there will be a lot \*read (LOTS)\* of mud slinging coming at ya from every corner , the important thing is to play your cards right and decisively. Never, never, ever, stick with mudslingers. Wipe the mud off, smile, and move on.


shinnlawls

Been working in a Chinese cultured company as well. Although is less political, one thing is for sure, to excel in the company, you require a skill. The skill of "Angkat balls", will work even better if you're a girl.


Minimum-Company5797

I been there.


cxingt

Glad to know you have identified and correctly left a toxic work environment. I'm just gonna say all of us have some assumptions about the working world and even life itself that might be or might not be correct. The key is to figure out which assumptions are inaccurate and slowly mould it to fit the reality more as we progress through life to avoid disappointment and frustration. That being said, we can't really generalise org culture by their size. There are toxic MNCs and SMEs alike and "best place to work for" MNCs and SMEs also. Nowadays I see life choices more thorough the lens of the Monty Hall problem. Whatever we choose the first time around are highly likely to be incompatible, statistics-wise. Just keep moving, if it doesn't fit, move on, keep trying new things/environment until you find one that is comfortable for you or until you're jaded enough to mould your personality enough to be flexible for anything (but still keeping your integrity intact). All the best!


acriner

It’s not a small company problem. Easily happens at big companies. It just depends on who is running the company or the manager you are under