Companies with a culture of saluting the flag at the beginning of the week

This activity has been maintained since October 2022. After the flag-raising ceremony, Yen's software company in Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi, will honor outstanding employees, share meaningful stories, and introduce good books for about an hour, before starting work.

"The old companies I worked for did not have a flag-raising culture at the beginning of the week, so when I experienced it, I was very excited," said the 24-year-old girl, living in Nam Tu Liem district, Hanoi.

The female employee also said that the company's unique culture made her understand more about gratitude, national pride, working responsibly, always being dedicated and living more positively.

Mr. Pham Ngoc Tuan, the leader of Hai Yen Company, explained that the flag salute every Monday morning is a mandatory activity of the company. Employees have been informed of the rules since recruitment and have responded positively.

"Through this activity, we want to spread the beauty of corporate culture, create an effective working environment, improve labor productivity, and contribute to the implementation of strategies and goals," said Mr. Tuan.

On June 5, a video clip of Mr. Tuan's company employees saluting the flag was shared on social media, attracting hundreds of thousands of likes and comments.

"The flag-raising ceremony will add motivation and national pride, making workers enthusiastic about their work and increasing efficiency," wrote user Xuan Lan.

Some people also revealed that some private companies, foreign-invested enterprises, and other manufacturing workshops also maintain flag-raising activities every Monday morning or every month.

Thanh Loan, 33 years old, an employee of a company specializing in assembling automobiles, agricultural machinery, mechanical engineering and transportation in Hanoi, said that the unit has maintained the flag-raising activity every Monday morning for nearly 20 years. Regularly at 7:30 a.m. on the first day of the week, employees will gather in the large hall, wear uniforms, stand solemnly before performing the flag-raising ceremony and singing the national anthem. After the national anthem, the company's traditional song is sung, and the leadership also has a quick discussion about work, before returning to work at 8:00 a.m.

Loan said that at first, she was not used to the culture so she was a bit reluctant, but after nearly 10 years of attachment, standing under the national flag and singing the national anthem every Monday morning made her feel proud, creating more motivation and excitement before starting a new work week.

"If I don't get to salute the flag on Monday morning, I feel like something is missing," said Loan.

Earlier this year, a company in the Thap - Hong - Ky industrial cluster in Dien Chau district, Nghe An province also received attention when it shared a video showing thousands of factory workers wearing red shirts with yellow stars, raising their hands to salute the flag and singing the national anthem, touching viewers.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Hao, Chairman of the Company’s Trade Union, said that the flag-raising ceremony has been maintained by the company’s 1,600 employees for nearly 6 years. This has been a rule of the Korean director since the company was founded.

"The company's greatest desire is to enhance patriotism, national pride and create solidarity among workers, thereby striving to compete, enthusiastically working in production and improving corporate culture," said Mr. Hao.

Associate Professor, Dr. Do Minh Cuong, Deputy Director of Business Culture, Vietnam Association for Development of Business Culture, said that the law does not require private enterprises to salute the flag weekly or monthly. Currently, there are only regulations on the use of the national anthem in flag-raising ceremonies at state offices, schools, political activities of the country, organizations, national festivals, and state and international sporting events.

"Therefore, the organization of weekly and monthly flag-raising ceremonies by non-state enterprises is based on the spirit of voluntarism, aiming to create a sacred atmosphere and national pride," said Mr. Cuong.

He also said that the flag-raising ceremony every Monday morning at companies and private enterprises is gradually becoming popular in many provinces and cities across the country. "This is a very positive activity that needs to be spread. In particular, the organization is compact, does not cost much money or time, and the lyrics are familiar, close, and everyone knows them," said Mr. Cuong.

This expert also said that in corporate culture, it is important to create habits, subconscious and endogenous strength in each individual, like unanimously and jointly singing the national anthem every Monday morning. However, managers need to find ways to maintain activities for a long time, instead of just being a temporary movement that blooms and fades quickly.