Where to start? I’ve lived all over the world and worked in a myriad of work environments- I’m not adverse to hard work, but everything about EF is ‘predatory’.
They actively recruit students right out of university that have little to no idea about what they want to do in the future. They promise them relatively decent pay vis-a-vis the current living cost. They additionally swear ‘up and down’ that new recruits will positively ‘love’ China and that they’ll be supported!
The reality is starkly different. I found myself in China after my BA for no other reason than I wanted to learn Mandarin- I already speak several other languages and thought this would round me out. I began teaching classes after just one week of observation, which should’ve been the first red flag. As we were so short staffed due the ever-growing number of people that did ‘midnight runners’ because of the poor work environment, I easily worked 50 hour weeks from the start. This was later compounded by mandatory summer and winter schools that added another 12 hours and reduced my time off to just one, singular, solitary day. Were we compensated for the extra time in the class room? Hardly- we were given just 600 kuai per ‘camp’, which translates to just €80 or $85 at the time of writing. If you think that €6 to $7 per hour sounds bad for a college graduate, JUST WAIT!
The regular salary is abysmal- positively abysmal. I’ve been paid better for internships. For a 50 hour work week I was paid just €1.190 or $1,290 per month. Which, again, averages out to an almost WHOPPING €6 or $6.50 an hour. If that wasn’t horrific enough, any halfway decent apartment costs at LEAST €400. And that living stipend they promised you? That covers maybe half, if you’re lucky. You aren’t able to save, in fact, you just barely scrap by.
Which brings me to my next point. If you want to break your contract for any reason, you have to pay them- 30,000 kuai (€4.000) to be exact. Given the cost of living and the salary they pay you, you could maybe, MAYBE, afford to do that after 10 months if you’re prudent with your money, but even then that’s incredibly difficult. They’ve got you exactly where they want you.
But why would you want to leave? If being paid a slave’s wages wasn’t discouragement enough, perhaps the work culture might be? Whilst working 50 hour weeks and consistently covering for other colleagues that had left or taken ill from the stress that came with the job, I was asked to repeatedly stay longer to decorate classrooms and just generally put in more time that was necessary. If you called in sick (because frankly, working with kid’s really tests your immune system) you had to qualify your sickness with the DOS. I had horrific gynecological issues whilst in China and despite my embarrassment, had to brief the management team when I asked to take a day off. I was once only allowed to leave my post after being sick in a trash bin.
But, that’s only the metaphorical ‘tip of the iceberg’. Whilst working for EF I experienced sexual harassment, threat of violence and, to a less important degree, workplace misconduct. I had a colleague yell harassment at me at a work event, telling another colleague that I was a ‘whore’ and a ‘slut’, despite the fact that we were only talking about 90s pop. This continued into the workplace, when he frequently made comments of a sexual nature to me. My DOS, Carmel’s, response was that I shouldn’t be so provocative, despite the fact that I was wearing the company issues navy blue polo and ankle length khakis. Who would’ve thought that golf is the sexiest sport?
A few months later, a 13 year old came to my class with a switchblade. He threatened another student that often made jokes at his expense. I stepped in between the two boys and managed to wrestle the knife away. I went to my manager directly and said I would no longer teach the child as I didn’t feel safe and didn’t want to feel unsafe in my work environment. Her response was to send a note home with the offending teenager, which was obviously ineffective. He remained in my class until I left my post.
Lastly, my DOS was sleeping with a Senior Teacher, who was arguably promoted because of his personal relationship, not because of seniority. She would regularly come to our office and sit in his lap or just generally throw herself at him.
When I tendered my letter of resignation to my DOS’s boss, I received an exit interview. Who should be in this interview, but my poorly behaved DOS? She proceeded to effectively try to ‘rip me a new one’ mid-interview. It had the opposite effect, I believe.
TLDR; Don’t work for EF, you will regret it.
