Advice for Foreigners Thinking about Working in Taiwan 給來台灣工作的外國人的建議

Share

---

Tweet

Following up on our article about the differences in work culture between Taiwan and America, I wanted to go further with a blog just for foreigners thinking about working in Taiwan. The below are kind of unwritten rules that no one will tell you before working in a Taiwanese cultured work environment. 
​繼我們關於臺灣和美國工作文化差異的文章之後，我想進一步為考慮在臺灣工作的外國人寫一篇部落格。以下是在臺灣有文化的工作環境中工作之前，沒有人會告訴你的不成文規則。

Please note that in the following blog I will share my personal views. As you can tell, I am biased and I prefer American work culture. Overall, I think Taiwan's work culture is stuck in the past, is based on a manufacturing economy, and needs to improve to accommodate modern office work. 
請注意，在下面的結論中，我將分享我的個人觀點。 如您所知，我有偏見，我更喜歡美國的工作文化。 總的來說，我認為台灣的工作文化停留在過去，以製造業為基礎，需要改進以適應現代辦公室的文化.

Advice for Americans thinking about working in Taiwan 給去台灣工作的美國人的建議:

• Take your outer appearance seriously 隨時注意你的形象
• Suck up to your boss 對你的老闆拍馬屁
• Make a good impression on your coworkers at all times. Never let your guard down. 時時刻刻給同事留下好印象。 永遠不要放鬆警惕。
• Watch out for snitches! From my own personal experience. snitching culture is real, and 99% of the time the boss will take the side of the snitch. Usually, snitches are younger or new employees that don't know you, and they feel that snitching will help them improve their status in the company. It has taken me months and years to recover from snitch attacks, and my image to my boss has never fully recovered. No amount of praise from other coworkers can make up for someone snitching on you. It may help to end your job. 當心告密者！ 從我個人的經驗來看。 打小報告文化是很普遍，而且 99% 的時間老闆都會站在告密者一邊。 通常，告密者是不認識你的年輕員工或新員工，他們覺得告密有助於提高自己在公司的地位。 我花了數月乃至數年的時間才從告密者的襲擊中恢復過來，而我在老闆心目中的形像也從未完全恢復。 其他同事的再多讚美也無法彌補有人對你的告密。 這可能有助於結束您在公司的工作。
• Beware of gossiping. Taiwanese employees love to gossip about others behind their back. It is really a bad habit, but prevalent especially among younger employees. You will almost never hear another coworker say something bad to your face, but they may be talking about you behind your backs, and they may gossip to you about others because they do not want to confront the person directly. 小心八卦。 台灣員工喜歡在別人背後講八卦。 這確實是一個壞習慣，但在年輕員工中尤其普遍。 你幾乎永遠不會聽到其他同事當面說你壞話，但他們可能在你背後談論你，他們可能會向你說別人的八卦，因為他們不想直接面對別人。
• Get ready to be torn down. Taiwanese bosses feel they have the right to tear down their employees, insult them, and expect them to not take it personally. Don't be surprised if your boss complains about every little mistake you make. You are expected to pay attention to every little detail in a Taiwanese work environment. 準備好被罵。 台灣老闆覺得他們有權罵員工、侮辱他們，並希望他們不要把這當回事。 如果你的老闆抱怨你犯的每一個小錯誤，請不要感到驚訝。 在台灣的工作環境中，您應該注意每一個細節。
• Don't talk back to your boss. Even after he/she chews you out, agree with everything they say, nod, and walk away. That is the best thing you can do. If you try to talk back or argue, it will not look good on you, and the boss will think you have a bad attitude. You can smile and nod, but you should not take what they say to heart, especially if what they are saying is ridiculous and untrue about you. Keep your chin up and release your stress in other ways far away from your boss or coworkers. 不要和你的老闆頂嘴。 即使在他/她反駁你之後，同意他們所說的一切，點頭，然後走開。 這是你能做的最好的動作。 如果你試圖頂嘴或爭吵，你會很失望，老闆會認為你態度不好。 你可以微笑點頭，但你不應該把他們說的話放在心上，尤其是當他們說的對你來說是荒謬和不真實的時候。 昂首闊步，以遠離老闆或同事的其他方式釋放壓力。
• If you have a problem, don't address it directly to the person, work through a third party or find a way to address the problem in a roundabout manner 如果你有問題，不要直接找人解決，通過第三方解決或想辦法以委婉的方式解決問題
• Look busy and pretend as if you care at all times 裝忙，假裝你無時無刻很在乎你的工作
• Pay attention to details and don't focus too much on the overall goal. The real overall goal is to look busy and get that year-end/Chinese New Year 13th month bonus. 注意細節，不要過分關注整體目標。 真正的總體目標是裝忙，拿到年終獎金。
• Come to work a little early and leave a little late, even if you do nothing and just scroll social media on your phone. 早點上班，晚點下班，即使你什麼都不做，只是滑手機。
• Forget about remote working, extra holidays, extra parental leave, and other benefits that are considered standard in America. 忘掉遠端工作、額外假期、額外育兒假和其他在美國被視為標準的福利吧。
• Make the most of the ineffective work environment. Make use of the time that you are using to look busy to actually do things you love, like taking online classes, scrolling social media, reading the news, etc. but make it look like you are doing work. 充分利用低效的工作環境。 利用你看起來很忙的時間來做你真正喜歡做的事情，比如上網課、瀏覽社交媒體、看新聞等，但要讓自己看起來像是在工作。
• Learn to love Taiwan's food, culture, healthcare, convenience, and natural beauty. Your love for Taiwan has to be greater than the inconveniences you have to put up with at work for you to survive here. 學會愛上台灣的美食、文化、醫療保健、便利和自然美景。 你對台灣的熱愛，必須大於你在工作中所忍受的不便，才能在這裡生存。
• If you can't do the above, try to find a job with a more western based work culture. 如果你不能做到以上幾點，試著找一份工作文化更西方化的工作。

​
The above advice for Americans in Taiwan is not good advice for being a productive worker. 
However, if you want to survive long-term in a Taiwanese corporate work environment, you should do all of the above. If you do, you will be able to keep your job and earn the affection of your boss. If not, something will eventually go wrong for you.
上述對台灣的美國人的建議對於有效工作來說並不是很好的建議。
但是，如果你想在台灣企業的工作環境中長期生存，你應該做到以上幾點。 如果這樣做，您將能夠保住工作並贏得老闆的喜愛。 否則，您最終會出問題。

Taiwan needs to give its workers back their rest days and their weekends. It also needs to lower the limit for labor unions, so that workers can fight for their rights and continue to lobby to improve the law. When this happens, Taiwan workers will be happier, more productive, and willing to stay. Otherwise, the brain drain will continue, and foreign professionals will not want to work here.
台灣需要還給員工他們的休息日和周末。 臺灣還需要降低工會的限制，以便工人可以爭取自己的權利，並繼續改善法律。 這樣的話，台灣勞工會更快樂，更富有成效，願意留下來。 否則，人才流失將繼續，外國專業人士也不會想在台灣工作。

Bonus: Advice for Taiwanese thinking about working in America 給去美國工作的台灣人的建議:

• Talk more and express your opinions more freely 多說話，更自由地發表意見
• Learn more about American culture and make more friends ​了解更多美國文化，交更多朋友
• Learn how to speak openly to superiors 學習如何與上級開誠佈公地交談
• Focus more on results and efficiency than on details and time put in. 關注結果和效率，而不是細節和投入的時間。
• Enjoy the extra leisure time and work-life balance in America, and find some hobbies. 在美國享受額外的休閒時間和工作與生活的平衡，並找到一些愛好。
• Learn to enjoy America's food, culture, music, and natural scenery. 學習享受美國的美食、文化、音樂和自然風光。

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more similar blogs in the future!
感謝您的閱讀，請繼續關注未來更多類似的文章！

Share