Whose ‘Thank You’ Is It? — The Quiet Collapse of a Large Corporation I Witnessed the Night I Was Caught by a Power-Harassing Sales Manager

Whoa… there are nights when only shouting echoes through a silent office—

■ The Stress of the Late-Night Visitor

Back then, late-night overtime was the norm. 10 PM, 11 PM. Just when I could finally focus on my own work, the “sales guy” would show up—like clockwork. And not just any sales rep, but a section manager. Why come at this hour? Why corner people at this timing? His behavior completely ignored the rhythm of the workplace, and everyone was silently fed up.

■ Submissive Upward, Oppressive Downward

I occasionally saw him talking to a department head. He was shockingly humble—like a completely different person. But on the ground, he was the opposite. I heard stories of him scolding team members in front of clients and even kicking a chair in a meeting room hard enough to break it. When I casually asked a client about him, they immediately said, “Oh… that guy.” He was “well-known”—for all the wrong reasons.

■ The Day I Got Caught

One day, it finally happened to me. “Here, this is an English document. Translate it.” I didn’t mind translating. But I didn’t have time, so I summarized the key points and sent it back. Later, I was called in—and he exploded. “Do all of it. Now.” I was forced to translate the entire document on the spot—in one hour.

■ The True Nature of Humiliation Is Structural

Being talked down to by someone who couldn’t even speak English—that was unpleasant. But what hurt more was the atmosphere around me. The looks that said, “Poor guy…” Yet no one said anything. No one stopped it. This structure of “looking away” is what pushes people to the edge. That was the moment I realized—this is how people break.

■ The Distortion That Ends with “Thank You”

When I finished, all I got was a simple “thank you.” That was it. Maybe there was no ill intent. But gratitude that ignores the process is, in a way, close to violence. Only results are evaluated. What happens in the process is never questioned.

■ Those Who Can Avoid, and Those Who Cannot

After that, I avoided his work as much as possible. Fortunately, I could—because of my position in the organization. But what if I had been in a department more tightly tied to him? What happens to those who have no escape? This is not an individual problem. It’s structural.

■ The Invisible Darkness of Large Corporations

The reality that such power-harassing salespeople could thrive—this wasn’t just about one bad actor. It was a “culture” tolerated within large corporations. In massive organizations, those who deliver numbers are justified. And behind that, there are people quietly being worn down.

■ Business Implications

The real question here is: what defines “results”? Short-term numbers, or long-term trust? Which is sustainable for an organization? In the DX era, what needs to be visualized isn’t just operational efficiency. Workload, psychological safety, organizational culture—companies that ignore these will eventually lose competitiveness.

■ A Topic Worth Debating

Is power harassment an individual issue, or a structural one? Is it acceptable if results are delivered? Are organizations that look the other way complicit? Unless we confront these questions, this will keep repeating.

I still vividly remember the discomfort of that night.
And I realize—because of that experience, I now have my own axis for judgment.

I can do it. I’ll take the first step tomorrow.

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