I don't need more days off, less hours, just a raise.

Only 1 day left until National Day holiday 9/2, my boss sent a message to the company group:“Wishing you a happy holiday with your loved ones and family.”The next message is:“But don't forget about the customer's work.”After reading, everyone just liked it for formality, implicitly expressing their feelings."too bored to answer"

Employees in the F&B advertising industry like us always have to endure holidays as well as no holidays, sometimes long holidays are even busier than normal days.

During long holidays, restaurants and cafes often advertise to encourage people to come and eat. Therefore, advertising staff like me often have to serve. Customers need to change the promotion program, we have to do it right away. Customers want to run media, we have to do it quickly. Any content that is trending on the internet, we have to "cook" it right away. On holidays, we still have to do enough to please customers.

Working through holidays is a characteristic of many jobs, not just ours. The longer the holiday, the more days they have to work. The biggest consolation is that the salary on these days is much higher than normal days, even up to 300%. The reason my colleagues and I were frustrated with the above message from our boss is because although we still have to work during the holiday, our wages do not increase accordingly. If I were paid 300%, I would not hesitate to work hard for all 4 days of the holiday, no matter how tired I am.

In recent days, people have been discussing whether to extend the September 2nd holiday, increase the total number of days off in the year or reduce the number of working hours per week. For me, Gen Z youth are facing big financial challenges, increasing income is the most important thing. I don't need to increase days off, don't need to reduce working hours, just increase salary. ""Heavy salary then energy"- My friends and I often joke like that.

What I look forward to most during the holidays is not avoiding overtime, but receiving a fair salary for overtime, but in reality, not all companies are fair in this regard. That is also part of the reason why many young people want to use their vacation time to sleep, because going out, going home or participating in any activities all require money, which they lack.

The salary is not enough for favorite entertainment activities, not enough to stay in a nice hotel, eat delicious food, so we have to save money and hug a pillow to sleep. Young people often make fun of this "goodness due to poverty" by teasing each other with dialogues like: "Sa"Why are you so good?" - "I'm poor, but if I had money, I would be as depraved as anyone else."

Which of the following makes you happiest?

The current salary of many young people, including me, is still low compared to consumer demand, just enough to cover living expenses but not enough to spend on personal interests. Therefore, increasing salary and income is still the number 1 priority, not resting. If I were paid 3 or 4 times more for working on holidays, I would not be foolish enough to choose to sleep at home.

Every working person has their own financial goals. Some people want to buy a new car, buy a house or have enough money to get married. Others want to have a decent amount of capital to start their own business. When people go to work, the first thing they think about is salary, then other benefits, days off, working hours, etc.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, many people have more flexible working hours, do not have to go to the company, can take advantage of the time to rest, entertain, spend time with family, but unfortunately the salary has been reduced to only 50%. I am sure that few people want that, it is better to work a lot and earn a lot than to work leisurely but not earn enough to live.

A few weeks ago, people were debating the proposal to regulate working hours to be short enough (8 hours/day, 40 hours/week) so that workers have time to find a partner, take care of their families and have time for private hobbies. However, all of these activities require money. If reducing working hours leads to reducing income, it is not okay. In fact, many workers still voluntarily work overtime without bonuses, just to complete a huge amount of work on time and maintain their current salary.

If you have a good income, I believe that even if you are busy, finding a partner will be easier. It is the worry about housing and economic pressure that makes young people, especially Gen Z, lazy to love, afraid to get married, afraid to have children, because when you cannot take care of yourself, it is difficult to take care of others.

Back to the boss's message, about 10 minutes after reminding everyone not to forget work during the holiday and receiving silence, he added:“Everyone's work during the holiday will be graded at 150% KPI compared to normal days.”At this time, everyone was bustling with "hearts" and wishing the boss and each other a happy holiday. I also gently texted the group:“Yes, thank you, boss.”