PA Guidelines at the CO?

hi I don't even know anymore.

(welcome - i haven't really seen you post already but w/e)

this is a tough one that i think all PAs have to deal with, and i think everyone has their own way to deal with it.
my personal way is pre-emptive, in trying to get people to solve their own problems/ask their workplace for advice rather than come to me, because if you help with one thing then they will come to you for more and more. i've taken a few evening calls on the chin, but i also make sure that anything PA-related is done strictly during work hours if possible.

(shachou may actually be able to give insight on this kind of situation much better than i can if she has time to come back from the GAIKOK to read this)

i think technically PAs should be on hand for any of this kind of situation, and there is definitely lots and lots of grey areas to deal with.

let's go through your examples:

facebook messaging in free time:
i struggled with this a few times in my 1st year too, and i think it's important first to set boundaries for yourself. tell people not to get in touch with you on facebook for anything PA-related. this can be vague i know, but if they do, what i also do is try responding to their query in an email (maybe even copying their original message on fb into the message for 参考 purposes). you may want to limit how many JETs you are hulemdos with on facebook if you think it will help, but at least drawing lines between work and free-time is important.
what i will also do as well is just ignore the message until the morning and email them in the morning and come up with an excuse for being busy. sure it might sound petty, but it's protecting you from doing this kind of thing and soaking up your free time. you could even straight up say "look, i have to go/wash my hair/skype parents now so can i talk to you again tomorrow?"

at least you got it straightened out, and i applaud you having the balls to do that in your first month - it's not always easy to argue your case in things like this, but if they gave it to you then maybe 1) your predecessor(s) (in recent years) may not have had to deal with this kind of thing, or maybe just didn't bring it up so your coworkers don't know how to deal with it themselves. they may be much more accepting of it than you think as you won in the end, and maybe they're just trying to do what they think is "by the book". try not to hold it against them.

eye infection hospital thing:
this is one that is best done through work and COs. what you want to do in this situation is talk to your supervisor, tell them what is up, get them to call the JET's supervisor, and get them to send an official 依頼書. it could be a retroactive one if it's an urgent case, but at least get your work involved with their work so they know it's an official thing and you not just taking time to hang out with a JET in another town.
telling the JET that you don't know if you can actually do that and you will have to check with work can buy you some time. of course, if it's like, super urgent, then go, explain afterwards, and get your supervisor to contact theirs as in the above scenario.

alternatively, you could suggest the JET ask their supervisor, or help arrange for a medical interpreter (whose fees can be covered by the JET accident insurance after the 5,000 yen deductible)


them asking you to go to the PA conference and confirm tells me that they don't know the full story about dealing with a PA either (is your supervisor/(fuku)kacho new from april perhaps?)

personally, we don't have any ground rules for us, and it's very much dealt with on a case-by-case basis. if you are honest, upfront, and timely (don't leave things too late, either before or after) then they should deal with you in kind.
ultimately, i think it's important to try and stay flexible, and be ready to take a few phone calls in your evenings on the chin. it's annoying for sure, but for example, just talking to your supervisor the next day and saying "ugh, last night i got a call from ○○市 ALT and they talked for like, 2 hours :/" at least lets your work know what you're doing.

as with anything pertaining to 代休 and stuff, keep a log of it. make an excel file with the date, the times, and the details of what you were doing so you have something to back up your claims. one call one evening may suck but it's whatever. a trend of one call every 2 days for 2 hours each time is annoying, and actually suggests that they might need more support than you can provide. remember the role of the PA has changed so that we cannot provide in depth support or mental counselling. don't be afraid to pass them off on to someone more capable, or asking for help yourself.


if you really want to come up with a set of ground rules, you could even write up a draft set yourself and say, "hey look what i've written, can we please go over this?" they will respond to something written and tangible (emails also work cos they don't go away) if you're not getting any progress through conventional verbal means. they're pretty busy and your situation must be pretty low-priority to them, especially as they are working late every night and sometimes not even getting compensated for it.

i know most of this doesn't actually directly address your work problem, but rather try address the root of the PA problems themselves. they may help so have a think.

so, in summary here are my main suggestions:

1) set your personal boundaries for dealing with JETs out of office hours
2) try to be flexible, not petty, but be honest and straight with your work
3) if it gets to a point which is uncomfortable, speak to your supervisor and make them understand that this is uncomfortable
4) keep a log of things that you have had to do as PA, especially if it is a longer-term/repeating trend
5) go through official work channels as often as possible when dealing with PA stuff. this has the double effect of being above-board, work official, and annoying enough for the ALT to ask someone else for support (most of the time they don't realise that they can go to their supervisor for support, so default on you)
6) try to understand their way of thinking and they should try to respect yours too. having a good relationship with your supervisor and work will really really help you in the long-run.
7) try come up with some ground rules yourself as a draft and submit it for their comments. you can work on it together until you all come to agreement and it will be something you can refer to in future situations.