Many young workers live a closed life.

Little communication

Arriving at some boarding houses in Tan Truong commune (Cam Giang), we saw a quiet scene even though the workers were in their rooms. They had no need to communicate with others, if they were not sleeping, they would lie down hugging their phones to surf Facebook, text and chat with friends. They went to work and then returned to their boarding houses, this situation repeated day after day. There were some older people who had never had a “love affair”, and even had difficulty getting married.

Doan Van Ban is 35 years old this year, from Ninh Giang, a worker at Brother Vietnam Industrial Co., Ltd. Ban said that at this age he no longer thinks much about marriage and children. “We are homeless, without love, without entertainment, without sports. We know that life like this is boring but we don’t know how to change it,” Ban said.

In another room, when we knocked on the door, Ms. Le Thi Hue from Thanh Hoa opened it. The small room was dark, Ms. Hue shared that there were no acquaintances here. Everyone in the boarding house worked for different companies. She worked at a Chinese enterprise, the employer rarely organized recreational and sports activities. After work, Ms. Hue returned to her boarding house, which was only about 15 square meters wide with four solid walls. Most people came home from work and closed the door without talking to each other, for fear of meeting bad guys. Some of her friends were accidentally drugged and robbed of all their money by bad guys. Thinking about her husband and children, Ms. Hue said that she was 23 years old this year and did not know when she would find a peaceful place with a house and a stable income. “Working as workers like us, we do not dare to think about improving our spiritual life. Before, there was a lot of work, and I could send money home to my parents when I worked overtime, but now there is little work, low salary, and I have to save as much as possible. How can I have money to go out and have fun?", Ms. Hue said.

To have a steady income, workers take advantage of every working hour and hope to work overtime as much as possible to earn more money.

Have to change habits yourself

Ms. Trinh Thi Dung, owner of a row of boarding houses in Phu Thai town (Kim Thanh), said that many workers shared that they do not have time to date despite their age. Now that everyone has a smartphone, they spend more time looking at their phones, paying less attention to their emotions. Many young people live like this until they are over 30 years old, past their prime, having difficulty getting married, while the income of low-skilled workers is difficult to buy a house. This kind of life has become a habit for many young workers.

In Hai Duong, there are no recreation, entertainment, or sports areas for workers. Only in enterprises with developed cultural and sports movements can workers be fully cared for. In boarding houses, they only come to rest, without opportunities to socialize, and their spiritual life is poor.

Previously, the Center for Supporting Youth Workers and Young Laborers (Provincial Youth Union) established 5 models including 1 "Weekend Playground" model for workers at Brother Vietnam Technology Co., Ltd. and 4 "Youth Worker Support Office" models at boarding houses in Tu Minh and Binh Han wards (Hai Duong City) and Lai Vu commune (Kim Thanh). However, some places are no longer operating, some are operating poorly, not attracting workers to participate. Social networks are almost the only entertainment channel for workers, but this is also where virtual relationships often occur, even fraud of both love and money.

Therefore, before Hai Duong province builds trade union institutions and entertainment areas to improve the spiritual life of workers, they themselves must equip themselves with necessary life skills to avoid risks. They need to reduce the number of "no"s in their lives by being more sociable and open, increasing communication with colleagues, and changing their "closed" habits. In addition, grassroots trade union organizations and enterprises need to pay more attention and take better care of the material and spiritual life of workers so that each factory and enterprise becomes a second "home" for workers.