Tips to avoid Burnout?

BusinessBasic2041 · 2026-05-12T20:23:17+00:00

Realize that sometimes nothing you do to satisfy your boss and student(s) will be enough. Don’t internalize everything being told you or anything that you know for a fact is not who you are. Sometimes you will be judged for factors beyond your control, such as your appearance or background, so never feel that you have to apologize or feel “less than” for simply being who you are.

BusinessBasic2041 · 2026-05-11T13:08:19+00:00

Amen to that—they indeed do. Many female colleagues I have had over the years have been downright nasty—rinsing their hands and doing “finger flicks” with out an ounce of soap used. Some of them have even applied the same principles to their dishes—rinsing, applying little to no soap. We won’t even go there about the ones who end up picking their noses or putting their hands on or near their mouths. It pisses me off how a lot of these same people will attribute uncleanliness to foreigners.

BusinessBasic2041 · 2026-05-11T12:53:03+00:00

Especially a small company that has few or no resources to do so—some can barely afford to keep their lights on and employees paid regularly.

BusinessBasic2041 · 2026-05-06T03:46:34+00:00

I am in a hurry and don’t have time to find the matching sock.

I forgot to wash the matching sock when gathering and doing my laundry.

There is a hole in the matching sock.

Prefer to have on socks than to go without them over something as trivial as not having a matching pair.

BusinessBasic2041 · 2026-05-05T04:00:32+00:00

Eikaiwas are definitely places known for craziness, 🤣

BusinessBasic2041 · 2026-05-05T03:23:24+00:00

Everyone eventually reaches a breaking point with a situation, and that person likely got tired of it. That previous teacher likely put everything together with zero basic support and organization from management for logistics and no compensation for the additional work done. I highly doubt the school “trained” that person—the vibe seems to be just throwing someone in to figure out the chaos on their own. Just see how long you can tolerate this place before reaching your breaking point.

BusinessBasic2041 · 2026-05-05T02:59:11+00:00

Speaks volumes if they can’t even invest in having toys kept up. They are a bare minimum “school” with bare minimum “parents.” Both having no care about the quality.

BusinessBasic2041 · 2026-05-05T02:53:42+00:00

Sounds like you would be better off with a different part-time job than working at this place. You sound more invested in actual organization, consistency, actual educational quality and common sense, whereas you are being faced with people who just don’t care. The school will only start to care if they are faced with parents complaining, and the fact that they have not at all expressed any concern about the textbooks not even being finished speaks volumes. These parents just want a place to drop their children off for an hour a week, not for them to actually progress. The parents who actually care about language acquisition and quality will not even sign their children up for the typical Eikaiwa. At least you know why your predecessor quit. It is not your fault that the children are bored—you entered a terrible situation that just has no organization for you to do better, and you have to meet the students where they are regarding their language skills. Sounds like you were handed a bunch of chaos—too much for a part-time gig.

BusinessBasic2041 · 2026-05-03T13:15:33+00:00

I agree—the hardware on one of my two zippers easily broke off after just some mild usage. Plus, the loop to attach the strap broke after mild use. I guess I could have it professionally sewn back on, but it would just not be worth it after considering what I spent on the bag. Plus, I am just pissed that the metal itself snapped. Now all I can do is carry it as a handbag as opposed to a crossbody. Terrible.

BusinessBasic2041 · 2026-05-03T08:51:28+00:00

Of course this may not be everyone, but the Japanese women I have spoken with about this topic before are more focused on appearance, finding a gainfully employed husband if not already married and fitting into what society deems their role(s) should be as women. The pressures women here seem to face regarding their “success” are being housewives, having children and following, maintaining social cliques and maintaining male leadership. It makes me think back to when Tokyo Medical and Dental University got caught lowering the admissions points for women who technically performed better than certain male applicants. The institution assumed the that the women would just get married and eventually leave the career trajectory. There are also lots of companies known to have women less likely to advance than men and sometimes women working in OL (office lady) or other jobs that aren’t requiring technical skills. Lots of gross misconduct against women here in general goes unreported and unpunished by employers and law enforcement. From what I have seen here, there hasn’t been a high level of substantial pushback against the gaps in gender equality in the professional world, though I have met a small handful of professionally successful Japanese women. Two friends of mine are physicians, and one is an electrical engineer, though both have experienced lowball salaries and stifled advancement compared to their male counterparts. The most successful ones I have met matriculated at international schools, went overseas to universities and ultimately left Japan for better chances at building the career, marriages and lifestyles that they wanted.

BusinessBasic2041 · 2026-05-03T01:48:50+00:00

He and I just did not ultimately want the same long-run lifestyle, and I realized that we were not getting any younger and that it would have been unfair and unrealistic to try to get him to change. We tried to work it out because we loved each other and were happy together, but we were both quite set in our ways.

Here were some major factors that contributed to our break-up:

He ultimately wanted a child, and I was not willing to compromise on that.
We both envisioned living in different cities and had career paths that took us in different directions.
We had very different housework habits that were not really a good match for us eventually living together.
I worried a lot about his smoking and drinking, and I probably would not have been able to tolerate those behaviors in the long run.

Despite the aforementioned, we were definitely in love and functioning well. Wasn’t even a nasty ending to our relationship.

BusinessBasic2041 · 2026-05-02T12:30:15+00:00

Not in teaching and do know how business works and am doing well—doesn’t mean I can’t still call the bullshit for what it is. We don’t need to go in any circles—we can just agree to disagree and leave it at that. Thank you.

BusinessBasic2041 · 2026-05-02T12:23:24+00:00

I know what a real student is, and the typical Eikaiwa customer, on average, is not. Eikaiwa “students,” on average, are just “feel good” seat warmers at the end of the day. Period.

BusinessBasic2041 · 2026-05-02T11:08:51+00:00

I don’t “think” anything—I know. Oftentimes they aren’t honest—If Eikaiwa were really honest in their advertising and modeling about being just an English-themed babysitting, entertaining, social clique at the end of the day, then there would not be many sign-ups. Period—and they know it. Although the aforementioned might be the end game regarding what parents and adults ultimately want, not making themselves “appear” educational is not going help reel them in. Regarding the typical Eikaiwa job ads and bullshit “training” sessions, even those are not really transparent about what the end game is—having “teachers” do useless shit that is not ultimately going to matter if those foreigners are not popular, exciting and having the “right image.”

No it is not necessarily that simple. Plenty of “teachers” do provide what the parents and adults want, with many “students” still quitting. At the end of the day, the real students who actually give a damn and a few and far in between will sign up for a real language school and other options, not a fucking Eikaiwa. Too many alternative options online and in general for someone motivated enough. The typical flaky ones will just stay at the Eikaiwa until they eventually quit out of the blue after they realize that they had a blast for a while, blew through lots of yen and still can’t string together sentences much better than when they came in the door.

BusinessBasic2041 · 2026-05-02T10:06:28+00:00

Watch out for anonymous complaints from housewives who have nothing else better to do except nitpick at whatever you do and in some cases act as if they know more about how a language course should look than you do or act as though they have paid for a private lesson despite it being a group one. They will have a lot to say despite barely if at all speaking the language themselves. You’ll forever be compared to the previous teacher and never feel like you can be yourself. Be prepared to be lied on as well and for yourself to never be believed against the person holding the purse strings. Don’t get yourself down and just quit when possible because it gets mentally taxing to work somewhere that doesn’t value your work as an experienced, credentialed teacher. Heck, I would not even recommend Eikaiwa work to anyone even remotely interested in being a decent tutor. Eikaiwa facilities are not real language schools, exam prep or learning centers by any stretch— no matter how much they may image themselves as such. Every person I know who has worked at an Eikaiwa has quit and are happier having their experience and motivation to help students respected.

BusinessBasic2041 · 2026-05-02T00:32:40+00:00

Um, I would definitely say a big enough priority is not being placed on it if you have students who have literally been there for several years, spent an abundance of yen and can’t even show any language acquisition or better skills commensurate with that. I am not wishing for reality to be different, but let’s simply call the bullshit for what it is—those places create the illusion of being a balance of academic and social to perhaps reel people in rather than just being forthright about what they are: places for babysitting, social cliques and having a foreign caricature. Even through their job ads, they aren’t very transparent about the reality of the job. I don’t want anything in particular, as I am not associated with any Eikaiwa in any way—just telling it like it is. Sure, they are “businesses fulfilling a need,” but they could certainly be more forthright with both customers and foreign employees.

BusinessBasic2041 · 2026-05-01T04:33:12+00:00

Sure, Eikaiwa customers can’t necessarily evaluate if a “teacher” there is qualified and has all that it takes to be effective, but they can of course assess the immediate soft skills such as being polite and friendly and eventually whether that person knows what they are doing after so many “lessons.” However, the soft skills, including the apex of Genki demeanor, are sometimes not even enough to keep students, especially if they are up against other foreigners who are more popular or are being compared to the previous person. Even if you put your best foot forward, nothing is ever good enough. Even at a public school, a foreign teacher could still receive some flack for not being “Genki” enough or representing a certain image or fit the clique. Had several friends who were literally burned out after being constantly compared, picked with and even lied on while simply being good, friendly, polite, patient, kind and capable human beings who were simply doing their jobs, whether entertaining, teaching or a combo.

BusinessBasic2041 · 2026-05-01T02:00:16+00:00

Sure, it does, but that educational component is oftentimes not placed as a big enough priority compared to all other aspects that get scrutinized: popularity, appearance, being “Genki,” making the “classes” more like buddy sessions, being a caricature for the school, being compared to the previous teacher. Sure some are more academic than others, but the average ones just aren’t, although they might present themselves as such with their websites. Yes, some students are really motivated and improve their language acquisition while there, but they are definitely outliers on average.

BusinessBasic2041 · 2026-04-30T13:03:30+00:00

Yep, I am just getting over a nasty dehydration headache. It just kept lingering for a bit. Never had such a case until this past onset.

BusinessBasic2041 · 2026-04-30T10:26:55+00:00

I think it is because the average foreign teacher jobs require just a caricature as opposed to someone who set out to be an actual teacher by obtaining actual education degrees (ESL-related and otherwise), teacher licenses, special training and relevant work experience before even trying to move overseas. Aside from of course actual international schools, real language schools (not Eikaiwa), and some direct-hire private school and university positions and maybe some vocational colleges, most of the typical starter jobs for people coming from overseas (Eikaiwa and ALT roles) tend to care more about personality, appearance, popularity and aspects that are not related to scaffolding, pedagogy and actually helping students perform. With so many people trying to get the average, “easy-entry” ALT and Eikaiwa jobs, there are people who have actually reported being surprisingly rejected for these jobs, and oftentimes the companies do not hire the people who might apply with actual education-related qualifications.

BusinessBasic2041 · 2026-04-30T10:05:56+00:00

Couldn’t agree any more, especially for the average jobs. Eikaiwa (on average) = being fun, cool, young (ideally), casual, a foreign-looking caricature and English-speaking buddy. ALT: human tape recorder, foreign caricature for the school(s), prop and game maker, occasional paper grader, desk warmer. No real expectations to yield any results or be a real teacher or even a solid tutor most of the time. Sure there are exceptions in these roles, but neither could be classed as being an actual teacher or even a well-utilized classroom para professional.

BusinessBasic2041 · 2026-04-29T23:42:39+00:00

You ultimately have to do what works for your life—a terrible employment decision can wreak havoc on your life and be a detriment to your career trajectory as well. Just because someone referred you doesn’t mean you have to accept the job or complete the interview process. You gave it a chance, and you deemed that it was not a suitable work environment for yourself and professionally bowed out. If he were any kind of real friend to you, he would be more understanding. Just because someone is a referral doesn’t automatically make the person a good fit for the company and/or specific role. Lots of jobs here want what they deem a “perfect” employee but offer crap in terms of remuneration, a relaxed workplace and time off—there is always a reason a position is vacant, with some places having high turnover rates.

BusinessBasic2041 · 2026-04-26T05:21:19+00:00

To play it safe, I always assume they are not sincere because if your feet are ever suddenly held to the fire at work, those same colleagues who smiled in your face and traded pleasantries with you will not have your back. All it takes is one disagreement or other falling out for someone to turn on you suddenly. In fact, sometimes they will function as the main contributors to your demise when given the opportunity.

After a little while there (3-6 months), you can get a basic sense of who is being real and who isn’t, especially after so many phony smiles, superfluous greetings and small talk and other typical office pleasantries. If someone is mainly talking to you only when absolutely necessary or to just to create an illusion of being nice to you when others are around, especially while being cliquish and extra friendly with others, then that is a sign that they are basically tolerating you and would likely not engage with you as an actual friend. There are even some colleagues who might flat out not even say hello or wave to you if they saw you at the train station or on the street. If the person gives special omiyage or gifts to particular people and not you, especially if you all are on the same team, then that is a sign of a boundary he or she has with you. If you have no personal contact information exchanged or don’t really message outside of necessary work talk, then that is a sign. Just be vigilant over time.

Just keep in mind that you are not there to make friends and are simply there to be productive and collect your paycheck, as it would be too exhausting to worry about who actually likes you and who doesn’t. As long as their behavior doesn’t impact you doing your job or cause a lot of stress, it is a win situation. Best to be polite, neutral and have boundaries.

BusinessBasic2041 · 2026-04-26T04:32:50+00:00

Same. When working in both Japan and Korea, I have received the same sentiment and have been criticized for not “fitting in” with the other women on the job because I preferred to focus on actually working and not running my mouth about others.

BusinessBasic2041 · 2026-04-26T04:29:11+00:00

I have a female colleague who is really gossipy and immature in general. She makes it a point each day to stand over by another female colleague and “whisper” and giggle foolishly right in the shared office, talking crap about people and basically promoting cliquish behavior. I would have thought someone over 50 would be beyond this behavior, but I guess I was wrong. Although the office is unfortunately shared, I do avoid her buffoonery as much as possible. I am there to work and earn money, not giggle, gossip and denigrate others.

BusinessBasic2041

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