I work at an English-speaking school in Japan (called Eikaiwa). Pretty much my job is quite chill just being an English conversation partner and correcting people's grammar, and the hourly pay is double the average. It also gives me a lot more time and less mental stress to finish homework after I finish my own school since I'm a student myself studying abroad.
But recently, my boss makes me wanna quit.
And recently.. Well, this is actually my fault but during a lesson, one of the students happens to suddenly speak Japanese sometimes and I just reply back in the same tongue by reflex. I realize this quickly and switch back to English because my job is to speak English at all times.
Well, the nearby students overheard me and told my boss who then scolded me and said ''According to one of our students you have been speaking a lot of Japanese.'' A lot is kinda an exaggeration but I admit I slipped up at times and I won't lie to myself about that. I owned up to my mistake and said I'll be more careful about my words but my boss still wants an… 30 min discussion with me about that after work. I feel like I deserve it but on the other hand, it feels like overkill.
I feel like I'm the only one she scolds the most even though I rarely make mistakes or do things I'm not supposed to do.
There have been times when the other English Instructors made some mistakes by forgetting to give homework or holding a lesson 1-2 minutes longer than we're supposed to (even if we're wrapping up) or forgetting/not doing what is according to the lesson plan. But I rarely hear her giving shit to them. I always come on time and have never skipped doing one of the lesson plans.
There have been times when she said ''We're humans, sometimes we do mistakes and that's ok'' But sometimes she goes the complete opposite direction and shames us for the smallest mistakes we've made.
My boss is the type of person where her reasons are based on her mood. If she has some good days we usually have a good time. But if she has one of her bad days then we're suffering for it.
Sometimes it feels like she tends to scold me more because I'm the youngest and the only one who's not a native speaker. I was mostly given the job since I speak clearly and could speak English since elementary so my level is quite advanced. Still doesn't mean my English capabilities are flawless.
Another reason that makes me want to quit is I've been getting fewer shifts. My boss knows I struggle financially and the scholarship I get from my home country isn't enough so having a part-time job next to my studies is crucial to me.
A couple of months ago I was told by my boss that the situation is bad because many students have been quitting so that will mean fewer shifts. But at the same time, we have been getting new students so it shouldn't have been a problem anymore. Still, my monthly income has been getting worse due to fewer shifts. Normally I've had 2 work days a week. On some good months, I've been getting 3 work days a week but that was last year.
I asked two of my coworkers if they have been getting fewer shifts lately and they said ''No''
Also, my boss recently hired a new person. Normally we're 6 people but now we're 7. This makes sense to me now that the new person is likely prioritized and I'm on the bottom of the ladder. Before the new person came there was just one week where I had one day of work, while the rest of the weeks I had two days per week.
And for this month… I have only got one day per week.
My contract doesn't specify how many days a week I should work, only 4 to 6 hours for one day. However, 2 to 3 days a week was normal ever since I started last year.
Normally I'd get 90 to 100k yen per month. It's not much but it's enough for me to enjoy life. However, for the past few months it has been getting less, Last month I got 60k yen. This month I estimate I'm getting 55k yen.
Paying rent for my dormitory plus other bills totals it between 50 to 55k yen.
How much money am I left after paying bills? 5k to 10k yen. Not much right?
Of course, I'm not broke and I still have cash from my scholarship but I'd rather not go in minus on spending and not spend more money than necessary from my scholarship.
So now… I'm trying to find ways to mentally prepare myself for the discussion and being told that I'm getting laid off, or that I'm the one who says I'm quitting.
I don't really want to quit because I've gotten known to some of the students and especially those who are my age or older, many of them have told me I'm easy to understand and they look forward to seeing me next time and I really have enjoyed talking to them. We usually talk to each other as if we're friends or acquaintances and not like Student x Teacher ( I just can't get into a teacher role even though I work as an Instructor). I think that is more enjoyable to them or maybe that's unprofessional of me. They always seem happy but Japanese aren't the confronting type of people who criticize or complain easily.
Last year I had a pretty good salary and lots of energy since my hourly wage is high and work days were only 2-3 days a week. Sure I have energy but not enough money to live comfortably. And I don't demand much.
Oh, and I also have to start looking into other jobs. Prefer to not work in food stores or restaurants as the amount of stress and bodywork don't leave me enough energy to do my best at school.
But I gotta live somehow.
How do you guys quit a job you enjoy because of the people there and how do you psych yourself before a discussion about your performance or about your future in that company?
TLDR; My boss' mood changes, and hiring more people is pretty much the reason why my salary has been bad the past few months. Also, I made a small mistake which I admit it was my fault and I will do better but my boss still wants to discuss it with me(In other words, give me shit) but now I'm considering quitting and currently looking into other jobs.