This 25-year-old girl from Nam Tu Liem district, Hanoi, works as a marketing employee for a petrochemical company.
She said working overtime wasn’t as scary as being selected to the performance team to compete with other departments — an activity she considers tiring and time-consuming. Last year, she had to train intensely off-duty for a month just to do a 3-5 minute dance performance.
In previous years, Ngoc was always listed on the performance list by the department head because she was newly employed and single. Annoyed, this year she decided to pretend to have a leg injury before the performance team roster was finalized.
Duc Minh, 37, living in Ho Chi Minh City, is also not interested in the end-of-year party organized by his company.
He says parties used to be simple, where everyone could come together and connect after a year of work.
But he added that now participants are constantly forced to drink alcohol and the performance part is often considered inappropriate.
“A few days ago, during our end-of-year party, the company even hired a group of dancers to dress up in revealing clothes and perform on stage,” Minh said. “It was supposed to be a party, but it was more like a bar – so loud I couldn’t hear anything even if I screamed.”
Khanh Ngoc and Duc Minh are among the 28% of people who “absolutely dislike the end-of-year holidays,” according to the report. VnExpress‘latest survey of 1,500 readers. Some 47% of those surveyed feel “indifferent to the party” and only 25% say they like it.
On social networks, numerous posts deploring the end-of-year holidays have aroused a lot of sympathy.
Not just in Vietnam, a 2023 year-end report from online recruitment platform Lagou in China also showed that 54% of respondents expressed reluctance towards company parties. The main reason was a dislike of communication, while a third of those surveyed also blamed pressure to perform.
With nearly 20 years of experience in the field of human resources management in large companies in Hanoi, Vu Thanh Ha said that every time she organizes a year-end party for employees, many people complain or refuse to participate.
“The most common reason given is the large amount of work to be done at the end of the year. In addition, there are too many parties with friends and family to mark the same occasion, which pushes people to overeat and makes them reluctant to eat at company parties,” Ha said.
Psychologist Trinh Trung Hoa said workers’ lives are getting better and better and there is no longer as much enthusiasm for organizing meals in restaurants or hotels as before.
Older employees don’t like to participate in exciting activities, while others have to prepare their own family celebrations and find excuses for not having time. Finally, being forced by their superiors to perform dances puts them under pressure and tires them.
Bich Hanh, communications officer for Hanoi’s Cau Giay district, said she was “afraid of the end-of-year holidays” because the agency usually organizes them for two days and one night in far-flung provinces. The most annoying thing is that it happens nearby Tetand booking a ticket home is difficult when Hanh’s family is in the central province of Ha Tinh, 400 km from Hanoi.
“The party must be registered a month in advance, so if you don’t participate, you risk getting a bad evaluation at the end of the year, which affects your salary and bonuses,” said Hanh.
Associate Professor. Dr. Do Minh Cuong, deputy director of the Vietnam Association for Enterprise Culture Development, said it is easy for these types of issues to create stubbornness and rebellion among cohorts where the Teamwork is essential.
Such was the case of Khanh Ngoc, who, after being forced to perform for many years at parties, developed a rebellious mindset, forcing her to think of every means to avoid participating in them . “Even if I had to pretend to be disabled for a whole month, I would still accept it because it’s a way for me to have time to work and rest, instead of training hard without any benefit,” Ngoc said.
As for Duc Minh, after attending many “inappropriate” parties, he refused to attend the company’s end-of-year party in the years to come. Instead, he plans to invite close colleagues to organize a small, intimate and warm party before the Tet holiday.
In order not to put pressure on employees when participating in the end-of-year party, Thanh Ha emphasized that the most important thing is for employees to volunteer for the party.
She said the event organizing department should also create something new to attract employees, such as inviting famous singers and professional entertainers, and create more opportunities for everyone to interact. If there are competitive activities between departments, the company can increase the value of prizes and offer attractive gifts so that everyone has the motivation to participate.
Dr. Cuong said that employees themselves should also express their personal opinions on the company’s end-of-year party.
“Whether you like it or not, you need to clearly explain how to improve the quality and efficiency of corporate events. Avoid wasting money and getting angry over it, which can harm your team at work,” Cuong said.
