A recruiting company I worked for called a department wide meeting to tell me off for putting a smiley face in an email I sent to an English native woman.
Bit of context, this woman worked for a client translation company and she was kind enough to invite our members to look at their work process. I was instructed to say my thanks in a business email in English and said at the end of my email: "Our team really learned a lot from this experience! :)"
I cc'd everyone in my department so everyone could see the email I sent out. A few hours later, we were all called in for a meeting just to say: "We have to be professional, please do not use emoji when sending out emails". I know exactly which manager complained about me, she had an obvious dislike for me because her husband who was the department head is super creepy towards me.
It was super awkward and I just apologized on the spot but honestly I didn't think I did something SO wrong that would warrant being publicly humiliated for. But anyway other than this instance, I could tell the work environment is quite toxic, not just towards me, so I left.
If it were anyone else, in a different company, could this actually happen?? Was I ignorant? Are Japanese companies just strict like that? Or is my assumption that those were early signs of bullying valid?
by ThrowRAhnhda