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Days off work are not holidays. Of course, people don’t go to work on public holidays, but in Vietnam, people observe only 9 a year. For sure, the number is among the lowest in the world. So it’s not so surprising that Vietnamese people love days off work.
There are 12 to 16 annual leaves with full pay, or even days without pay. But the best days off work are the days when there’s a blackout day. For some people, blackout is a pain; for Vietnamese people, anything but. Even though most people will have to work some other day to compensate the day off work due to blackout, they don’t mind. It’s never better to relax a bit, especially when there’s a stressful meeting or deadline coming.
Vietnamese people enjoy the days off work to the fullest. They go singing karaoke when it’s cheaper (on weekday mornings and afternoons), go shopping when the supermarkets are not crowded, sleep off their extreme tiredness or chat with their friends–from the comfort of their beds. If they take a few consecutive days off, they’ll pick some place to travel alone.
If they come to you saying that they have a day off work, be nice. Don’t criticize that they’re not productive. They’re not at work. They don’t love money that much. They have the right to have more holidays. They have no control over blackout. They have more reasons why they need those days off work. You envy them. Blah blah blah!
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