My Take on Corporate Culture in Taiwan

As to be expected Chris has come home with some different stories from work.  His first day at the new office his co-workers were extremely nice and decided to take him out to lunch to help him get to know the city.  They went to a local Taiwanese restaurant where he was able to order 20 mini-dumplings for 40NT (New Taiwanese Dollars) which is about $1.30 US.  If you know the right locations, you can get food for very cheap, which is why some expatriates (non-citizens or expats) claim they can go months without using their kitchens and still pay no less than they would for groceries.  For our family, we have found that while Taiwanese food is good, we miss home cooking too much! 

Upon returning to the office after lunch that first day of work, Chris sat down to get things done.  Shortly after that the lights went out and a stunned Chris stood up to see what was happening.  All around him his co-workers were sleeping at their desks.  He called me in a whisper voice to tell me all about it.

Daily Timeline for the Taiwanese people we know (I'm sure this varies for others as it does all over the world):

• 8:30 - 9:00am  Arrive at work  (Schools in the area start around this time as well)
• 12:00 - 1:00pm    Lunch  (Very few individuals choose to eat their lunch at work.  Instead they take advantage of the local markets and restaurants.) 
• 1:00 - 1:30pm  "Rest Time"
• 5:30pm  Leave work  (A great deal of work is done from home at night and some individuals do go into the office earlier or come back later in the evening to video-conference with the US or other countries they may be working with.)  **NOTE:  There are quite a few companies that workers don't leave until much later in the evening.  Trek is an exception.
• 6:30 - 10:00pm  Night Life and Night Market (Many individuals grab dinner out at restaurants because of the good deals.  Also, this time of night is when the weather cools down and families can enjoy the outdoor shops, parks, and socializing during the warmer months).

I believe the weather drives much of the daily activities and as a result of the later night life school and work start later in the morning.  Everyone needs their beauty sleep right?  And, of course, there are also jobs (such as our security guards and the individuals working at the local markets and shops) who work odd hours and do not follow the time lines above.  But in this city that never sleeps, it seems, from an outsider's perspective, that the timeline above holds true for quite a few. 

With regard to the 1:00 nap time:  Seriously, why don't we do this in the US?  As a result of the mid-day "rests", according to Chris (and this may be specific to his office), employees seem happier and the day is more productive.

English Names for Taiwanese Employees:  Everyone in Chris' office has an English name (Jerry, Nancy, Steve, etc.).  I'm still trying to determine if each individual comes up with his or her own name, if the company gives them the name, or if they are born with an English name as well.  I think it's a little of all three.  While sipping my tall iced Carmel Macchiato at Starbucks a few weeks ago (yes, I am that girl) a man approached me and told me that he noticed my Trek sticker on my laptop.  He works for a company that does business with Trek and so we started talking.  During our chat he mentioned that he used to go by a different name until he found a new job and changed companies.  His new company asked him to change his name so he chose the name Derek Jeter as he is a baseball fan.  Another example.  I recently went out to eat with a few individuals from Chris' office including one who recently had a baby.  They named their baby Arichie and plan to make his English name, Richie. 

Regardless of how each person gets their English name, this is one American who is very thankful for this trend!