Iron Rice Bowl



So somebody had asked me, "Do you think the reason Asian males are suppressed (whether in the dating world or the corporate world) is simply because our cultural values does not match those of Western values?"

And I replied back that yes, cultural dissonance does contribute to the suppression of the Asian American male.  I also said that racism and limiting beliefs were significant factors as well.

But in my reply back (The Overconfidence Effect), I only addressed the supposed difficulties of Asian American men in the dating world.  In this post, I'd like to address Asian Americans in the workforce and some of the difficulties we face there.

Now keep in mind that I have a rather sketchy employment history, so my observations of Asians in the workforce is a little limited.  I've worked a lot of odd jobs.  I've worked in retail.  I've been a personal trainer.  I was once a reader for the blind.  I've worked for the government.  I've worked in market research.  I worked in a library.  I've also been a union leader.  So I've worked in a variety of fields using a variety of skill sets.

I can't say what it's like to work at a dot com where employees get to play ping pong every day.  Although my brother has worked such places, so I get to hear his experiences.  But the bottom line is that I've worked at places where work was work and not play.  So my observations of Asians in the workforce is based on traditional work environments, not work environments where it's college, part two.

A lot of Asians have the Iron Rice Bowl mentality.  Government jobs are the ideal Iron Rice Bowls, since they offer greater job security, decent income and solid benefits.  The only problem is that many government jobs are rather mundane.  Feeds the stomach, but doesn't feed the soul.

The funny thing is that not every body cares about feeding the soul.  This comment that I found on the Single Asian Man blog kind of summarizes how a lot of Asians just don't aspire to anything more than a stable job:


"For the most part, all AA’s are the same. And most just strive for what everyone else wants – nice house, 2 car garage, 2 kids, yard, decent job that pays the bills, middle class, go to church maybe, not break any laws and pay your taxes, and be a good nice citizen/neighbor. All AA’s care about is what’s inside their little bubble – anything beyond that or outside of that, it’s irrelevant and unimportant. If it doesn’t have anything to do with us directly, we don’t care.

"That’s pretty much it. None of us strive to be some CEO of a fortune 500 company, none of us date supermodels, or become rock stars, and none of us travel the world and see the 8 natural wonders of the world. All we want to do is live in our little bubble, commute to work, eat out sometimes, hang with friends, play poker, drink at a bar, and come home, hope to get some sex from the wife, and go to sleep. And the entire cycle repeats next morning.

"Most move to the suburbs after marriage and kids, to be able to inject the kids to a good school district. We like to buy electronic toys from time to time to keep up with technology and with the Jones, or in this case, the Kims or Wongs. 

"What else is there? That’s it. It’s the simple things in life. We don’t care what happens in Iraq or Afghanistan, we don’t care who is leading our country, we don’t care about politics or what shapes the world, and we don’t even probably vote. We don’t care about social injustices happening to other AA’s in the U.S., as long as the AA is safe and still in his/her own bubble."

I don't think there's anything wrong with the Iron Rice Bowl mentality.  Beats being unemployed, that's for sure.  But what I find strange is that most people do not aspire beyond the suburban family lifestyle.  Not because they can't achieve greater things, but because they really don't care to achieve greater things.

The reason why we don't have a lot of Jeremy Lins is that ambition and drive are very rare traits.  Most people want to enjoy simple pleasures:  have a morning latte, have dim sum with friends, watch The Walking Dead, take the kids to Disneyland.

On the other hand, dreaming big and making those dreams happen takes a lot of work and sacrifice.  Most people are not that adventurous.  Most people do not seek to change the world, and they don't seek personal glory.

So in the workplace, I don't find a lot of people (Asian or otherwise) who are power hungry and want to promote and climb the corporate ladder or trade their small iron rice bowls for bigger iron rice bowls.  Which I completely understand, because in order to promote, you sometimes have to be someone else's bitch.

So while there is certainly a Bamboo Ceiling preventing ambitious Asians from entering the upper echelons, I also find a lot of Asians in the workforce are content with where they are.  Most seem to be inclined to holding on to that which they have (their jobs) as opposed to always searching for something better.

The other thing I've noticed is that a lot of Asians assume that we live in a meritocracy.  This may be because Asian cultures stress academics, which is supposed to be meritocratic.  But in the job world, a lot of your success is based on politics and social influence.  Your social skills are much more important than your technical skills in helping you get ahead.  This is why there are a lot of bosses who are dumb as nails, but they understand people.  They understand who's good at what.  They don't need technical expertise, because they can simply hack into the expertise of other people.

If you want to get ahead, you have to get out of the meritocracy-only mindset.  You have to play the socio-political game at work if you want to get ahead.

So make a good first impression at a new workplace.  This is very important, because once your reputation is established, it's very hard to shake off.  You want to come off as extremely competent, but you don't want to come off as a pushover.  Bosses often promise a promotion if you go the extra mile at work, but if you're a newbie, then the seasoned workers will try to advantage of your unfamiliarity of how things are done.  The bottom line is you do not want to be someone else's bitch. Once you're stuck in the bitch zone, it's very hard to get out.

Being quiet is a detriment to the hard worker, because he or she doesn't advocate for himself or herself.  You have to advocate for yourself, because nobody else is going to do it for you.  Your boss may be praising you to your face for your hard work, but behind your back and behind closed doors he or she may be ruining your reputation and telling upper management how you're not a leader and don't deserve a promotion.  Your boss will take credit for your good work, but will throw you under the bus when things go wrong.

So make a good impression on the higher ups.  Not just your immediate supervisor, but the boss of your boss and the boss of his boss.  Make friends in high places.  Get a mentor within the organization you're working, who can guide you on a path to success.



Comments

MojoRider said…
Interesting post....there's something to be said for having economic security if you're going to use it to further enrich yourself through self improvement or indulging in your hobbies or interests. As for not caring? That's not something I can answer for other people, I can only address what motivates me outside of the work life. For as much as the job I have (a federal government position) is interesting and lets me see and do interesting things, I don't enrich my soul from the job. it gives me great life experiences, but i look elsewhere for things that feed my soul. i would hope others do the same. Very rarely is anyone their job; it might define a part of who you are, but it shouldn't consume you.

Moreover, I think in terms of workplace advancement, we should all know by now that meritocracy is a fiction. Like James said, it's about the social networking, your corridor reputation within the company. Doing good work is important, but the other half of it is the politics. Who do you align yourself with? Who's coat tails can you ride? And sometimes the best people don't get promoted, so let me talk about the other side of the equation.

I am not a mid level supervisor even though there are great chances to be one, I have had others advocate me to take a certain position ,etc.. I know that I can be one and a damn good one because I've seen all the mistakes others make. I also had a great boss and learned a lot from him (having a mentor is definitely a plus). Yet, I remain a senior journeyman and I am content with that role. I made peace with not getting promoted within place here in my field office (politics and competing against HQ entities makes a promotion here virtually impossible). I could obtain one at HQs or take one out in another field division, but I choose not to. Besides, who the hell wants to move and go to El Paso? Or take a supervisory slot in Milwaukee? There's no guarantee that anyone will appreciate you taking a less glamorous post. The powers that be just want to fill a slot. They don't give a damn about your sacrifices.

You see, sometimes it's not about the extra cash or the job title. It's about your happiness. I'll just say that I spent my early years at HQs hating life. Sometimes, a bureaucracy is very much like high school---with all the cliques and the gossip crap that goes on. For me, to go take a supervisory position for a unit that doesn't engage in the kind of work that I'd find interesting would be simply be for the cash. And it would also bore the shit out of me. Additionally, the quality of life would suffer. My commute would be longer, there would be more meetings, more headaches to deal with and you have to deal with section chiefs that you don't like and never respected. That's the big problem: having to deal with other managers and section heads that you've disliked. And they will now be your peer group once you become one of them.

I'd say you have to pick and choose carefully in your decision making process. For me, it has to be the right place with the right people. And think about what your escape plan is should the people you allied yourself get removed or transferred. The long knives come out once people know your benefactor is gone. You also have to examine what your own value system is and what you're willing to compromise. And always leave a paper trail that shows that YOU did the work, be it a memo in the file, to your boss, an email that also CC's the front office heads. That way, the boss can't bad mouth you behind your back and trash your work. How will he or she explain why they sent you an email congratulating you on a job well done and then trash you to the higher ups and say that you dorked up the project?

Like James said, always keep your good reputation intact. Don't always trust people to do the right thing so protect yourself in a bureaucracy. And find that one person you can trust and have as a mentor.

MaSir said…
Very good post. You just inspired me to write a blog on this topic. Good stuff.
J said…
Thanks Masir. Glad to see you back blogging!
J said…
Yeah email is good way to CYA. Like they say, the faintest of ink is better than the clearest of memories.

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