Chapter 298: Preparations and Interactions Before Departure (2/2)

The store was packed as usual, and some customers could even be seen giving up and going home. I greeted the customers and went around to the back of the store. Carm-san was already there waiting for me.

Did you wait long? [Ryouma]

No, youre right on time. I was considering going out to greet you because of your curse. [Carm]

I see, sorry to worry you. [Ryouma]

Shall we go? [Carm]

I went to the office with Carm-san, and he briefed me on the things that had transpired in my absence. No big problems came up in his report, and even the smaller ones have mostly been dealt with already. He can really be trusted. If theres anything to be concerned about, it would be the work ethic of the new hires.

It wasnt anything serious, though. At most they were just a bit too inattentive. It would be bad to allow them to develop a habit, but I believe its just a matter of time. Its normal anyway since theyre just starting out.

The store has only opened for about a year, but its flouris.h.i.+ng thanks to your achievements during New Year. Everyone can also see that you have the dukes backing now. Above all, our employees are treated well and our reputation is good, so people have a tendency to believe that they can achieve a stable life by getting hired at our store. [Carm]

This would have been unthinkable back when we first started. [Ryouma]

I still remember the day when I tried to hire employees from the Merchants Guild, and the people that gathered for the interview left at once. At the time, my store didnt have a reputation, and the boss was also a child that is: me so it couldnt be helped.

But nowadays, people want to be employed at our store so badly that they would walk up to the reception desk and pitch themselves. To be honest, I didnt think that our situation would improve so abruptly.

Everything is still within our expectations, so there arent any problems. Weve also already taken measures to deal with it, so lets just watch for now. [Ryouma]

Yes. If you indirectly tell them to be more attentive, those willing to improve will immediately reflect and change. If theyre willing to learn, then we should also be willing to teach. I have plenty of experience in that regard from the Morgan Company, so just leave it to me.

The bigger problem would be if there are people that dont want to improve. In such cases, well have to conduct interviews and hand out warnings, and if there still arent any improvements, then well have no choice but to let go of them. [Carm]

Its unfortunate, but it cant be helped. Its one thing to be lacking, but it wouldnt be profitable for us to keep people that have no intention of bettering themselves. After all, they will affect not only the quality of their own work but also their peers. [Ryouma]

Ive seen plenty of those people back in my previous life people that cant do anything by themselves and always rely on others. Whether its as a student at a part-time job or an adult at a full-time job, theyre everywhere and come in all ages and genders. When people like that increase in number, the productivity drops, and they infect the atmosphere with their att.i.tude.

As the saying goes, one bad apple spoils the whole barrel Thats not a nice thing to say to anyone, but its the truth. So in order to prevent a vicious cycle from starting, we have no choice but to pick out any rotten apple.

Yes. I believe that talking to them and warning them beforehand is already plenty lenient. [Carm]

Im not being particularly lenient, actually, but [Ryouma]

The laws of this country favor employers, so the immediate termination that a j.a.panese might imagine from stories from the States could easily be done.

In j.a.pan, the laws greatly favored the employees, and there were some drawbacks as a result of the excessively strict regulations. Ive seen bosses in my previous life use termination as a threat to control their subordinates, so while I dont want to be strict, its scary to be too lenient too.

By the way, Americans dont do immediate terminations as frequently as j.a.panese people think. They have employment termination laws there too, so unjust termination has a high change of resulting in legal action. So while they can technically dismiss employees on the spot, they dont and negotiate instead, sometimes even leading to a premium severance pay.

Anyhow, interviews and warnings are important. Above all, its important to make it clear what standard were looking for from our employees. Vague standards make for poor teaching, which make it harder for the employees to learn, and in turn lead to misunderstandings and meaningless arguments. [Ryouma]

As important as explaining the standards demanded are, however, theres no avoiding the risk of the dismissed employee making a ruckus and trying to throw mud at our reputation in an attempt to get back at us. In such cases, its crucial to appeal to the legitimacy of the termination by communicating the exact reasons for it, while also providing evidence of warnings previously issued and demands for improvements.

Prolonged disputes could worsen our reputation and also drain the employees of their strength, possibly leading to another employee being dismissed and a vicious cycle starting, then before anyone knows it, we have a toxic workplace. Yeah, Im not having any of that. If the atmosphere in the store ends up that bad, Ill just help the employees find a job elsewhere or give them a premium severance pay, then Ill close the store.

Please dont make a face like that. I understand what youre trying to achieve with your policies, and besides, youve already left the management of the store with me. [Carm]

Was it so obvious? [Ryouma]

The light left your eyes. In any case, we can just proceed as weve planned, right? [Carm]

Yes. Im counting on you. [Ryouma]

Okay. Next, theres a request from some of the employees They want to use the materials you provided in regards to management policies to use as teaching material for the new employees. [Carm]

Are you talking about that? [Ryouma]

I had written some doc.u.ments when I delegated my position to Carm-san, but it was also meant for future branch managers. It included a guideline for store operations, as well as a short course on hara.s.sment to prevent toxic workplaces from forming. To be honest, I had no idea how effective such a thing could be, but I did make it seriously in hopes that it would at least have some impact.

However, it would also be problematic if the future managers were to be overly concerned with hara.s.sment and end up excessively considerate, and its not like my thoughts were absolute or anything. I know that people will interpret things different according to the common sense and custom of this country and the area where the branch is, so i would have been plenty happy if they just kept those guidelines in mind.

Moreover, if I recall correctly, there were people that requested a copy before, only to end up crying from how unbearable it was to read. Carm-san also complained before when he skimmed through it once. Who wouldve thought that there would actually be people who would want such a thing? Have they lost their minds?

Its true that the stuff you wrote is depressing, but its contents, especially the first half, resonated with me and the other employees. I found it educational, and I learned what sort of interactions to be wary of.

The problem is that the examples grow more and more severe to the point that I cant help but doubt the sanity of the superiors mentioned. For example, there was that things to take note of in case youre hit by a wine bottle. Why is the doc.u.ment presuming that someone is going to be hit by a wine bottle? And why are there descriptions so vivid it felt like it was written out of a grudge? In that regard, the doc.u.ment being easy to read and understand actually works against it. [Carm]

Come to think of it, I did end up burning it several times with magic while thinking of examples Did I accidentally curse it? I might not have intended to, but I was certainly full of grudge while writing it, and considering Id burned it up several times while writing, I must have been leaking mana too. Could it be that that doc.u.ment is actually really dangerous?

Carm-san, where is the original copy? [Ryouma]

It concerns the management of the store, so its being treated as confidential doc.u.ment and is being kept in the locked cabinet over there. [Carm]

Upon saying that, Carm-san opened the cabinet and brought over a bundle of doc.u.ments as thick as a comprehensive law book. Hmm I cant tell if its cursed. Im not sensing anything from it akin to that stone that Remilie-san and I used for practice.

Its probably fine. I read both the original and the copies, and both were equally depressing. Those who read only the copies felt similar too. [Carm]

Hopefully, youre right Who are those people youre referring to? [Ryouma]

All the employees when the store first opened. They were all able to understand why you treated your employees so well. [Carm]

I couldnt meet his gaze, but I could tell that he felt sorry for me.

I didnt know what to say, so I just cast Dispel on the doc.u.ment and forcefully changed the topic, agreeing to grant their request and giving Carm-san the discretion to decide how much of the original to include in their teaching material. Hes handling the store well, so Im sure hell know how to handle this matter too.

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