Seniority

Overview

In Asian culture, courtesy, politeness and respect are extremely important in social settings. Younger individuals are expected to respect and follow the orders of older or more senior individuals. In school, underclassman are expected to address upperclassmen as 學長 or 學姊, which means classmate of a higher grade level, male and female, respectively. In corporate or work settings, employees are expected to address their boss as their positions, not their names. In extended family reunions, the children always have to greet the aunts and uncles when entering the door; grandpas and grandmas are no exception. 

As Asians, we have been taught this way ever since we could talk, and it has been ingrained deeply into our culture and our behaviors. However, what most people don't realize is that such conditioned behaviors subconsciously makes us obedient and submissive to older individuals. Our gut-reaction is to respect them merely because they are older than us. But why? Why should we respect an upperclassman, or an older family member? Furthermore, why should we respect anyone at all? Next is my take on this issue. 

My take

As a result of living most of life aboard, I tend to have a more liberal opinion on things. From my perspective, people should not have to respect someone simply because they are older. I would argue that an older individual does not indicate that he is smarter or more knowledgeable. Consequently, I do not respect them or disrespect them, but simply see them as equal. I believe no one senior to me deserves any respect unless they proves to me that they is worthy of respect. This is not to say I am cynical towards older friends and look down on them. Don't get me wrong, I totally respect them, but not in a obedient and submissive way; I treat everyone equally. 

Never will you ever hear me call anyone 學長, with the exception of joking. Instead, I just call them by their first name, as if they were any other friend I had. 

On the other hand, I also firmly believe in treating those younger than me equally. There have been numerous times when people have called me 學長. As much as I appreciate their respect, I speak from the same perspective and tell them not to call me 學長. Simply put we're all students; there does not need to be any "respect" to older students. 

Comparison to the States

Since I spent most of my life in the States, I often like to compare parts of the Taiwanese culture to American culture. If you take a look at the relationships between people of different ages in the States, you will not observe the seniority phenomenon. In school, students can easily make friends across different years, without any seniority barriers. Students can easily make friends across different grade levels. In family settings, children address older relatives or family members via a first name basis when they are old enough and they are not obligated to follow any orders or commands. In corporate settings, everyone calls everyone else by their first names, and more importantly, lower employees are often encouraged by managers to challenge the decisions made because they value every single employee and treat them as equals to themselves. 

Conclusion

Seniority is one of the many few parts of Taiwanese culture that I think could be improved upon, especially because cultural barriers like these can severely hinder room for effective development. If younger employees are afraid to challenge senior employees, then discussion will not be rigorous and ideas will not be as developed as it could have been. I personal believe that in order to overcome this barrier, younger people should be more assertive when communicating with older individuals, however still staying with in the lines of politeness and respect. This will allow more thorough discussions and developmental processes, which will push our next generation to be more critical and innovative in every aspect.