I'm working for a Japanese owned company in IL as a sales/import coordinator. I'm reporting to Japanese sales manager in its sales dept. with 2 American sales staff working in the same room. The manager verbally abuses me IN JAPANESE which other 2 do not understand except the tone of his voice. I reported this matter to our personnel manager however, because he only speaks English, he can't understand the situation very well.

Any good solutions?

Rita Risser Responds:

Generally, it is not illegal for a manager to verbally abuse employees. It is only illegal to do so if the abuse is based on your gender, race, age, or other legally protected classification. The fact that he does it in Japanese is irrelevant.

Good companies like to keep employees motivated and happy, and prohibit verbal abuse by managers, even if the abuse is not illegal. They seek to establish a higher standard than required by law. It doesn't matter if the personnel manager understands Japanese or not. If the person is yelling at you, that's abusive and should not be tolerated.

If the company won't support you in creating a respectful workplace, you have to decide if you should stay there, or go someplace else where your talents -- and you -- will be appreciated.

Best of luck to you.