Running a deadline during Tet with banh tet and chicken

Many young employees still have to work from home during Tet due to the nature of their jobs. Illustration: Phuong Lam

At 10pm on January 23 (the second day of Tet), after a New Year's Eve meal with friends, Duc Thinh (26 years old, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City) opened his laptop and replied to a series of emails waiting in line.

He is currently a programmer for a foreign-invested technology company in Vietnam. Thinh's partners are mainly businesses in the US and India. During the Lunar New Year holidays in Asian countries, some of his foreign partners and colleagues still work as usual.

"We have announced a holiday, but we will still support partners when they need to discuss project progress urgently. With the long holiday, no one wants work to be delayed," he shared.

Before that, even on New Year's Eve and the first day, Duc Thinh spent at least 3 hours a day "hugging" the computer, next to the Tet meal with his family.

Busy

Lunar New Year is the biggest holiday of the year, the most anticipated by many people. Many "laptop citizens" wish to celebrate Tet to the fullest, completely free from deadlines, computers...

However, due to the nature of their work, they are forced to take time off to continue completing necessary tasks.

Due to the nature of her job, Phuong Vy has to carry her laptop on holidays and Tet.

Similar to Duc Thinh, Phuong Vy (25 years old, Tan Binh district, TP LakeWillBright) also worked hard every day during the long Lunar New Year holiday.

She is currently a content creator for a media company. Before Tet, her boss allowed her to return home early to avoid traffic jams. However, the reminder to "remember to be online every day, don't miss any messages" made Vy feel more pressured.

According to Vy, her work during Tet is 2-3 times busier than usual. She always has to keep up with news and events to create content that attracts viewers, posting it on the system regardless of the time.

"During the holiday season, I'm so busy with both housework and work," Vy sighed.

She said all her collaborators took time off for Tet. Only she and her colleagues, the official staff, still had to work according to regulations.

Instead of having 5 people working together like before, Vy's team now only has 3 staff members working together throughout the 8 days of Tet holiday.

On the first morning, Vy took the opportunity to go celebrate Tet with her family, but her bag was always filled with her laptop, battery, and backup charger.

"I have celebrated two Tet holidays like that. At first, my family was confused and asked why I still had to do it during Tet. This year, my parents accepted it and left me alone," she shared.

Thanh Tung brought his laptop to a coffee shop to finish his work during Tet.

Meanwhile, Thanh Tung (27 years old, Ba Dinh district, Hanoi) admitted that he was a bit tired when he received a work reminder message from his boss on the night of the 30th of Tet. He is currently a middle manager, coordinating the marketing team's activities at a game distribution company in Vietnam.

At the end of 2022, about 5 weeks before Tet, his company launched a new product. The game was launched at the peak of the market, and his team could not avoid a huge "mountain" of work. During Tet, even though no one wanted it, notifications from chat groups kept popping up at a dizzying pace.

"There are advertisements, New Year events for players, game errors, server errors... many problems happen when we have a new product launched right on this occasion," he said.

Sitting around the family dinner table, his eyes were still focused on his phone, his hands typing continuously to discuss with his colleagues how to solve arising problems.

During the year-end meal, Tung could not fully concentrate on the stories his parents and sister shared. At times, he had to excuse himself to take on unexpected online meetings.

"Every year, I usually take my girlfriend out to watch fireworks on New Year's Eve. This year, I had to stay home to finish the deadline," Tung said.

Accept it because it's part of the job.

Thanh Tung's online meetings during meals make his parents unhappy. His parents understand the nature of his work, but they can't help but feel depressed during the holidays.

According to Tung, he is not as busy during Tet as usual. This year, due to the new project, he and his colleagues have to be so busy that it is difficult to control their time.

"I accept living with a laptop during Tet because it is part of my job. However, I still arrange time to be with my parents and take them to celebrate Tet," he explained.

To make up for the time off and family reunion, Tung plans to invite his parents to travel during the April 30 and May 1 holidays.

This year, the holiday coincides with the Hung Kings' death anniversary. Tung thinks this is a good opportunity to bring parents to participate in festival activities.

Duc Thinh spends 3 hours every night to solve unfinished tasks.

As for Duc Thinh, he clearly understands the nature of his job when he has to work directly with many partners and colleagues abroad. Before Tet, this employee had planned his work during the holidays.

"Every day, I spend 3 hours before going to bed to review all emails and work to grasp the project's progress. During the holidays, my colleagues in Vietnam and I do not need to attend meetings or reply to emails, but still receive a common email stream to grasp the situation," he said.

If he still has the strength and time, Thinh will still finish some unfinished work from before Tet with the hope that when he returns to work, he won't be too "overwhelmed" by the approaching deadline.

Meanwhile, Phuong Vy tries to limit using her laptop during family gatherings and meetings with friends for fear of affecting everyone's mood.

Understanding the nature of her job, she reported the content plan to her boss early and tried to complete it before the deadline.

"I usually take my laptop to a separate corner to concentrate and finish work quickly. Although it's a bit annoying because I can't have a full Tet holiday, I'm also happy because my income is 3-4 times higher than usual," she excitedly said.

According to Zing