What it’s like working for Atrae
“Learn as if you live forever.”— Mahatma Gandhi
I may have mentioned in one of my blog posts The C Factor — my first impression about how cool and unique it is working for Atrae and what made me decide to join this venture.
While working in Japan has always been my dream, I didn’t want to settle for just anything. When I finally got a timely opportunity, I had two choices: to work for a Language School where I can comfortably work with foreign colleagues without having to worry about not being able to speak Japanese nor adjust with the Japanese culture— or to work for a startup company (where I’m the first only non-Japanese) and everything is new to me.
Simply, it’s about staying in my comfort zone or taking a new challenge. Apparently, this is where choosing the latter had taken me.
And looking back on almost 2 years of working here, let me share about a couple of things I have learned.
Role vs. Position — when I started my career, I would always hear about climbing the corporate ladder. I don’t have anything against positioning yourself for career advancement however, in Atrae this isn’t our major focus. No, we don’t have a promotion culture. What working for a flat organization has taught me is that it’s not about the rank or position but it’s about the value of your role, it’s all about what and how much you can contribute to the company’s growth that matters — and that makes the difference.
Sense of Ownership — I don’t remember how many times this was restated whenever we’re reminded to do our best and be the best that we can be. Sense of Ownership by definition is the psychological well-being at work, which includes sense of purpose in one’s job and a feeling of accomplishment. Sense of purpose and feeling of accomplishment — these two factors are highly significant for our engagement, hence we put importance on them.
I could have entitled this post “What it’s like working for a Japanese company” but perhaps things would have been different If I had worked for another Japanese company.
Well, those are just a few of the things I learned from working here, they may sound simple but they mean a lot to me. I know that I still have a lot to learn in the years to come.
What’s something great you learned from working for your company?
Thanks for reading! :)
