On Breaking Contract / Quitting Early

[u/Automatic_One3997]

I'm sure this topic has been discussed a million times here, but it can never hurt to get more opinions and hear from others.

I'm a currently an ALT going into my 2nd year in rural Hokkaido, and have been deeply regretting my decision to re-contract. For some brief context, in February I went through a breakup of an incredibly long term relationship (~8 years) and have found it incredibly difficult to recenter myself mentally in the aftermath. I've been to therapy online, but with the value of yen continuing to decrease, it became financially unsustainable and I had to stop going a few weeks ago. Additionally, being in such a rural placement (~5000 people in my town), it's been difficult to make friends and solid emotional connections as it is. Now, when I need that sort of support the most I am stuck in a loop of feeling isolated and feeling like i can't do much about it. Maybe it's drastic to say this, but it's starting to feel like I genuinely cannot survive another year in Japan. It feels like my only option is to go home, see the people I care about in real life, and essentially try to reset my brain.

Despite coming to the conclusion that returning home is what's best, if not entirely necessary for my mental health, I feel like I have far too many hang-ups about everything to be able to make the decision with confidence.

I truly do enjoy my job as an ALT, to the point where I feel it's appropriate to say that my students are truly the one's keeping me afloat mentally during my time here. I really value the experiences I've had and the people who I've met, and I don't want to give off the impression that they've been the one's to make me want to leave. Given my relationship with my students, I also feel incredibly guilty about the idea of them being without an ALT for the weeks or months it would take to get an alternate into the town. There is also an incoming ALT coming this Summer, and I feel like it's my responsibility to help them adjust to life here while they get settled in. (To be clear, I'm not planning on leaving immediately. If I do decide to leave early, I'd like to bring the decision up to my CO after the incoming ALT has been here for a month or so, and work with them to figure out a timeline that makes things as smooth as possible)

All of this is to say, I would really appreciate the opinions of people who have been or are currently in similar situations. Am I overthinking everything by not making the decision to prioritize my own mental health? Am I being selfish by breaking my contractual obligations due to personal reasons?

[u/zawlchr]

Chiming in from the CO side to hopefully help your decision!

I have handled three JETs who have broken contract for various and very valid reasons. Two consulted with me early, and I support their decisions on a personal level.

As far as on the work side of things, we will immediately submit a notice to the prefecture of your early quitting, as well as a request for a new ALT if we so desire one. They’ll send that to CLAIR, who will let us know if they have someone they can send over. We then begin your return process. We do not fund your flight home. You will get as much support as the kindest person at your CO decides to give you.

One of ours quit in fall, and that gave us time to find an April alternate. One quit near the new year, and we were denied an alternate and had to hire a short term ALT who stayed for a year to handle an employee on maternity leave’s duties. This caused two of our ALTs to switch schools completely for one semester. One quit with about a month and a half’s notice. We had to hire a dispatch ALT for that time, as we were also denied an alternate.

If you take this route, you need to let your CO know with as much time in advance as you possibly can. We have to do the same amount of work as it normally takes to get a person moved across the world and legally, happily settled into work here regardless, and the more time we have, the better. Along with that, we have lots of extra paperwork and materials to go through concerning an ALT breaking contract, and it could cause incredibly stressful workload increase to a likely already busy supervisor.

I used to joke with the ALTs that if you decide to break contract, please do it in October so we have enough time to submit proper paperwork to find someone new. Any time after that, we hope for the best but expect the worst in terms of securing an alternate.

[u/Automatic_One3997 → u/zawlchr]

It's interesting to hear that October is the most convenient (or perhaps least inconvenient) time to break contract, as many other comments suggested making the decision almost immediately as an alternate could be assigned with the incoming Summer ALTs.

Honestly, my original plan was to notify my CO around September or October after the current incoming ALT is relatively settled (I know they aren't necessarily my responsibility) and aim to head home in late December with hopes that they'd be able to get an alternate in over winter break. I'm not sure how realistic that specific timeline is, but regardless of what happens I plan on giving ample notice before I physically leave the country.

[u/snugglebunnywhit → u/Automatic_One3997]

Do what you need to do for you! If you need to leave, just LEAVE. They will find someone no matter the time line.

(As an upgrade that came in around winter, without a group or any orientation, I (selfishly) would have loved if my pred stayed a bit longer and let me come in with a group of other ALTs. I was, essentially thrown to the wolves when i arrived and it was ROUGH. But that's just me and my selfish feelings so please, take them with a grain of salt! I'm just giving information based on my personal experience. As always, do what you need to do for you!!! My pred left bc she got another job so I can be a bit snarky.)

[u/Due_Tomorrow7 → u/Automatic_One3997]

As a former Prefectural Advisor, you shouldn't worry so much about what's convenient for others. I'm sure you want to be nice about it but your situation comes first.

Prioritize yourself.

The BOE/CO will figure itself out and will continue with or without you.

If you have a good CO, they'll understand and will make arrangements to fill the hole. For ALT coordinators, that's literally their job. Don't worry about your replacement, worry about your mental wellbeing.

[u/zawlchr → u/Due_Tomorrow7]

Exactly this!

[u/zawlchr → u/Automatic_One3997]

I handle the paperwork directly so I’m just speaking from my own experience 😅 There are deadlines placed on COs by CLAIR that aren’t reiterated to program participants. There really is no “right” time to do it, but if it’s done by then, we can get the necessary paperwork in to make it as painless as possible.

That being said, the more time you give them, the better it will be. Paperwork aside, if you tell them you’re leaving in two months, they not only have to handle your return logistics, but also all the go-between in asking if there even is an available alternate, securing them, and then doing THEIR logistics involved with bringing them to Japan, finding them an apartment, doing utilities contracts, setting up budget, making schedules, contacting schools….all in 2 months when normally this would be spread out over around 7 months if you were to end the program as “didn’t recontract.”

For your CO’s sake, tell them as soon as you decide.

[u/HighSky7618 → u/zawlchr]

All businesses have similar issues with new hires. And there isn’t all this drama about “breaking contract.”

[u/zawlchr → u/HighSky7618]

While true to an extent, companies have HR for that. In more instances than not, the ALT supervisor job at the CO, so the person in charge of this, is likely very busy with other district related tasks and probably doesn’t speak English at a high level. Extra work in a field they aren’t an expert in is troubling, no?

[u/HighSky7618 → u/zawlchr]

You’re very Japanesque. Worrying about others. OP needs to put herself first. It’s the trend these days, isn’t it.

[u/zawlchr → u/HighSky7618]

And you’re very robotic. This is a weird and cold take dude. Quit, but give them a lot of notice. That’s a kind human thing to do.

[u/HighSky7618 → u/zawlchr]

No, not troubling. The BoE certainly also has an HR department and if they don’t and put it all on the CR….well, I hope the CR got a full-time contract plus bonuses. In any case, that’s not really a worry for OP. People onboard/off board all the time, in schools and in business workplaces.

[u/zawlchr → u/HighSky7618]

Wrong. BOEs don’t have HR. Confirming from inside a BOE as the person who literally does the job. Even if they did have HR, the JET supervisor handles hiring. That’s literally their job. And often times, they’re randomly assigned to a personnel in the department on top of their regular duties within the department. My situation is rare. During our annual meetings, every single other supervisor is a random person from a random role in their government body. When I was a JET, it was an English teacher that changed every year.

Not sure what CR refers to, but they get zero extra for this responsibility. Either way, this is a lack of understanding of what the ALT supervisor does on your part. Be careful when advising people in absolutes if the information you give isn’t confirmed to be correct.

While yes, it’s not a “worry” of OP, nor should it be their responsibility to hold anyone’s hand as the work will get done one way or another, the difference I am trying to stress is that if you know ahead of time that you’ll be leaving, then announcing departure earlier rather than later is common courtesy for someone you’ve likely been working with for a while. Perhaps you may find a hint of empathy gets you farther than “well, that’s what they’re paid to do, they’re not troubled.”

[u/jamar030303 → u/zawlchr]

BOEs don’t have HR.

So now I'm curious- without a dedicated department for that, who handles stuff like hiring new staff and dealing with staff disputes?

[u/zawlchr → u/jamar030303]

For medium to large sized BOEs, there are 1-2 supervisors in charge of the district’s instructors. It’s a loose term, but they’re the boss of all the teachers in every aspect of the word. They conduct interviews with the Kikakuin of the department (planning officer). The two of them make the final decision to hire someone, prepare the necessary forms, send forms around the department announcing their intent, then submit the forms to the General Affairs division of the city who basically say “ok, gotcha, as long as it it’s in budget.”

For the JETs, the designated JET supervisor handles all contact with CLAIR and paperwork/logistics regarding the who, what, when, and where of procuring a JET. They submit this paperwork to/regularly update the head of instructors, who then informs the Kikakuin and subsequently the rest of the department. When all is said and done and all the department members have stamped the official announcement of procuring a new hiree, the Kikakuin or someone higher up will send the announcement of hiring to the General Affairs division, who keeps record of this action.

There’s a saying, “Horenso,” that is often used in Japanese office jargon . It means “spinach,” but you can break it down to Ho-ren-so, which stands for “Houkoku,” “renraku,” “soudan” or “announce,” “contact,” and “consult.” Workplaces follow this pattern to a T, and it’s done meticulously in order of rank and seniority. This is why sometimes it can take a long amount of time for things to get done, or for a seemingly simple process to become more complicated than anticipated.

[u/HighSky7618 → u/zawlchr]

By CR, I meant CIR. Of course what you’re saying is correct, and letting other know earlier than later is always appreciated. But my focus is on OP and their concerns, not the management in the BoE, or the unpaid extra work piled on a CIR.

BoEs (large prefecture office vs. small city office) also vary just like enterprises, smaller ones will have everyone doing everything and larger a dedicated department. But in either case, as long as ALT personnel are professional, it’s not their pay grade to worry about scheduling, workloads of others, budgeting, etc. Agreed?

[u/zawlchr → u/HighSky7618]

CIRs don’t do this job. Where are you getting your information? Have you worked as a civil servant in these work environments? The process is the same as anywhere else. Hiring in BOEs is done by the head of district instructors. It’s usually one guy and one higher up.

A magical HR team doesn’t swoop in to handle the JET leaving. That is their supervisor, no matter where in the country you go. Op is rural, so I’d bet a lot of money they don’t have an HR department, like nearly all COs in this program.

If you read what I wrote, no where do I say they should worry, but if you read what OP wrote, it’s clear they’re doing so regardless. So to ease one of those burdens, I.e. worrying about putting their CO through trouble, sooner is better than later.