But how was it in summary? At least 50.1% happy I hope.
Most certainly--perhaps best towards the end. Pretty easy, especially for the money, lots of autonomy, no overtime, very private office with a great view of the mountains (either very green, or snowy), about 8km from home so I could drive or cycle, and so on. Clothing was business casual, and I never wore a tie (did wear formal black for grad/matriculation), summer would be something like khakis and a polo shirt, winter something more, but when cooler I did like sport coats due to the pockets. Good running shoes were fine. Blue jeans?..who cares.
The faculty meetings were always long, but I would either leave after 5-5:30 (just walk out quietly), or skip them. Tho certain ones during the year were more important--weekly schedules, students failing a year, that kind of thing. There was a bad period during the 2000s when the founder's son became 理事長. Nepo baby. The best way to describe him was that he was like trump, behaviorally. He almost took the school down, was finally reigned in, and eventually forced out (and it was only at that point that I learned that there were people
above the 理事会 (called 評議員／評議会). After this, it was like the "great relaxation".
I worked in two departments, and each of those thought I was doing more work in the other, or at least they didn't really try to cross check my duties/responsibilities. Also, as I got older, and everyone else younger, nobody bothered or tried to manage me or what I did. I worked and made sure everything worked as smoothly and nicely as possible.
Another downside is that on off days (no class) or breaks, it was still required to come to campus (and swipe in). So I had to do that every day. But then after that simple swipe was done (and no classes, etc), I could just leave. I'd bike to work early enough that I could swipe in and then be away from the area before most people commuting in would see me leave. So on their swipe printouts or whatever they looked at, it looked like I usually got to work before 07:30--model employee and all that. And tho many did, they never bothered me about swiping out--I virtually never did that.
It was (and still is!) a very low ranked school, either F-rank or off the charts below that. But the people overall were nice, and some of the first students I had got hired--maybe 5-6 people on staff who had been my students, which meant that for a little extra info, I could go to someone I knew, and who had known me as their teacher. One of these people, a woman, had become an office 部長 by the time I left. Another teacher who came a year after me, we knew each other pretty well, was my departmental dean for a few years.
The staff were all permanent, and that school was their life. Whether you (or anyone) knows it or not, for my wife's school, a 県立大, all of the office staff get rotated in from the 県庁 every few years--a bad system since they view it as a temporary assignment, and those folks know very little about how everything works. At my school everyone was permanent there, and (as usual) got rotated around different parts of the front and back offices--so rotation, but not far, and everyone knew everyone else, and they generally knew how all parts of it worked, and who to call or talk to for any question or to get anything done. It was still work, but very convivial, and a huge contrast to my wife's school.
blah, blah, blah... (oh, and they liked me enough to formally make me a 名誉教授 after I left)
www.persol-group.co.jp
