By Oona McGee
In Japan, husbands often hand over their pay packets to their wives,
who are the chief financial controllers for the household. Husbands then
receive a fraction of their pay in the form of a monthly allowance,
which has to cover costs such as cell phone charges, lunches and
all-important networking and relations-building “nomikai,” or work
drinking parties.
According to a survey by Shinsei Bank, the average office worker
receives an allowance of 39,600 yen a month. But when the average cost
for attending a drinking party is 2,860 yen, and one lunch is an average
of 510 yen a day, many workers are now choosing to skip out on after
work drinks. What they don’t realize is that this attempt to save some
yen is actually jeopardising their careers.
Here are some comments from office workers in their 30s about their tight financial situations:
“Drinking parties are a waste of money, so even though I’m invited I
don’t go. If you continually refuse, then they stop inviting you so it’s
not a problem.”
“Nothing will improve for me because even if my income increases, my monthly allowance will stay the same.”
Management consultant Shinsuke Suzuki, however, is certain that
“nomi-nication” remains an important part of workplace relations,
asserting that, “office workers who decline invitations to drinking
parties can’t get promoted.”
Making the effort to attend drinking parties is often a simple way to show your commitment to work relationships.
“ To a large extent, if you’re not an
employee with a specialised technical skill, then there’s nothing to
really distinguish you from the other workers. So if you want to stand
out and get promoted, attending drinking parties and building up an
in-house network is much more effective than simply working your heart
out at work.
“Of course, there will be people who think, ‘A party organizer is
such a low and useless level of work. I should be assessed for my work
performance at work,’” Suzuki said. “But these people are missing the
point. If you show that you can organize a party, then you’re also
showing that you can complete work projects and you have good people
skills.”
But what about those on a tight monthly budget?
It seems that if you want to get ahead in business on a tight budget,
you might just have to skip lunch and go out drinking with the boss
instead. Your body may not thank you for it but your future wallet will.
Sources: Nikkan Spa
Monday, April 29, 2013
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Taiwan showgirls strip for the dead
source: http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Asia/Story/A1Story20121009-376445.html
TAOYUAN, Taiwan - Dressed in mini skirts barely covering their hips, the two girls took to the neon-lit stage and moved vigorously to the loud pumping pop music.
Their job: to appease the wandering spirits.
As the temple facade in the background changed colour from the fireworks lighting up the Taiwanese night sky, the show climaxed with pole-dancing and striptease in front of an audience consisting of men, women and children.
"This is hard work but I need to make a living," said 18 year-old En En, out of breath after stripping for the crowd during the recent religious festival.
En En had just earned Tw$3,000 (S$123) for her act, which began on stage, but ended as she mingled with the audience, letting men touch her for tips.
Folk religion in Taiwan is a unique mixture of the spiritual and the earthly, and one of its most remarkable manifestations is the practice of hiring showgirls to perform at festivals, weddings, and even funerals.
The girls work on "electronic flower cars" - specially designed trucks equipped with light and sound equipment that can become a stage, allowing them to travel to performances often held in smaller cities and rural areas.
"The groups attract crowds to our events and they perform for the gods and the spirits to seek blessings," said Chen Chung-hsien, an official at Wu Fu Temple, a Taoist landmark in north Taiwan's Taoyuan county.
"They have become part of our religion and folk culture."
At 26, Chiang Pei-ying is already a veteran performer with nearly 20 years of experience, travelling across Taiwan with her father and two sisters for their family business to entertain audiences - both alive and dead.
Chiang made her debut when she was in kindergarten because she liked singing and dancing on stage and has become a celebrity performer with her sisters, charging up to Tw$80,000 for a 20-minute show.
She said she enjoys her line of work, even if she has to deal with some odd requests from customers such as walking around coffins and singing for the deceased at funerals.
"I've watched this since I was little so it's nothing peculiar for me. Performing for the dead is just like performing for the living people," she said.
"They liked to sing when they were alive and their relatives thought they would have liked to have somebody sing for them in the end. For me, I get good tips and I hope I am accumulating good karma too."
TAOYUAN, Taiwan - Dressed in mini skirts barely covering their hips, the two girls took to the neon-lit stage and moved vigorously to the loud pumping pop music.
Their job: to appease the wandering spirits.
As the temple facade in the background changed colour from the fireworks lighting up the Taiwanese night sky, the show climaxed with pole-dancing and striptease in front of an audience consisting of men, women and children.
"This is hard work but I need to make a living," said 18 year-old En En, out of breath after stripping for the crowd during the recent religious festival.
En En had just earned Tw$3,000 (S$123) for her act, which began on stage, but ended as she mingled with the audience, letting men touch her for tips.
Folk religion in Taiwan is a unique mixture of the spiritual and the earthly, and one of its most remarkable manifestations is the practice of hiring showgirls to perform at festivals, weddings, and even funerals.
The girls work on "electronic flower cars" - specially designed trucks equipped with light and sound equipment that can become a stage, allowing them to travel to performances often held in smaller cities and rural areas.
"The groups attract crowds to our events and they perform for the gods and the spirits to seek blessings," said Chen Chung-hsien, an official at Wu Fu Temple, a Taoist landmark in north Taiwan's Taoyuan county.
"They have become part of our religion and folk culture."
At 26, Chiang Pei-ying is already a veteran performer with nearly 20 years of experience, travelling across Taiwan with her father and two sisters for their family business to entertain audiences - both alive and dead.
Chiang made her debut when she was in kindergarten because she liked singing and dancing on stage and has become a celebrity performer with her sisters, charging up to Tw$80,000 for a 20-minute show.
She said she enjoys her line of work, even if she has to deal with some odd requests from customers such as walking around coffins and singing for the deceased at funerals.
"I've watched this since I was little so it's nothing peculiar for me. Performing for the dead is just like performing for the living people," she said.
"They liked to sing when they were alive and their relatives thought they would have liked to have somebody sing for them in the end. For me, I get good tips and I hope I am accumulating good karma too."
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