Vietnam - A work week

Dear readers,

Here we are in a new month of August. Especially in this month, a new decree related to foreign workers in Vietnam has come into effect. The decree states that six months from now on, foreign workers who have not received a work permit or have yet to apply for a permit will be expelled from the country.

This new regulation is meant to decrease the number of low quality workers here as well as enable short-term foreign laborers to work in Vietnam without having to obtain a work permit.

So expats, it’s time to think about working in Vietnam seriously if you really want to stay longer in this country. To help you decide, the editorial today will give you a general picture of the working environment here through stories of foreign and Vietnamese workers.

This week, we have three foreigners: a Swiss businessman, an American manager and a French intern talking about the working environment and their colleagues in Vietnam.

Lucas Miras noticed that Vietnamese are friendly and hard-working but still afraid to speak up their own ideas, especially at work. He thinks it is a weak point because in a business context, not raising voice or not communicating problems can affect work efficiency.

“Sometimes, they simply do nothing or do something completely different to what is instructed due to misunderstandings or feeling shy to ask questions,” commented Lucas.

Agreeing with Lucas, Theo Falcoz also had misunderstanding moments with Vietnamese because his colleague just say ‘yes’ instead of double checking what he said:

“When I asked a colleague to help me search for information for a project, he kept saying “yes” and nodded his head as if he understood. When the deadline approached, I asked him about his progress only to find out that he had not even started. It was because he did not understand what I said!”

Lucas advised shy Vietnamese employees to take some courage to speak up at work more often because managers do appreciate those who are capable of giving feedback, constructive criticism, or come up with their own ideas and solutions:

“I know that Vietnamese people are famous for a hard-working and optimistic attitude. They could make more out of their potential if they would develop a more proactive and constructive way to communicate problems, or simply raise their own ideas more often.”

For this matter, we got feedbacks from some Vietnamese employees who have working experience in Vietnamese and international companies:

“I think Vietnamese employees are afraid of being shouted at and scolded by their bosses. I felt like that when had a foreign boss last time. A little encouragement will solve the problem,” commented a reader nicknamed little elephant.

“I quite agree with you. I am an employee too and I hardly speak up my ideas even when I disagree with my boss in some tasks. Expressing ideas with Vietnamese boss can lead u to some problems even when you are quite right. That's why Vietnamese rarely come up with their ideas. I love the way Westerners work,” wrote Thuy Vy.

What do you think our readers? Is it the corporate culture that influences their employees’ capacity to think differently and give constructive criticisms or comments?

We would love to hear more about your experiences in different working environments.
Shy as they are to speak up to their boss, Vietnamese employees do not miss out on any opportunity to gossip with colleagues at work, finds American manager Robert M.

“I notice many people are nosy at work. I remember getting angry knowing that my employees use lunch breaks to spread rumors about someone, causing confusion in the company. This resulted in distraction at work and distrust among company members. In the West, people also talk behind your back in the office. However, they try to find a way to solve the problem by straightforward conversations,” said Robert.

He is also shocked to know that some employees make up stories of their family members being sick as excuses for their mistakes or unpunctuality at work.

“An employee once told me that his son was sick and hospitalized, so he could not complete an assigned job on time. A month later, I talked to his wife at a party and learned that he had only one son who was studying in Singapore and only got back home once every summer,” Robert recalled the story.

“I remember a male student often says to a teacher for his excuse: my grandmother is sick so I have to take care of her- my father is a hospital... so on. In fact, his grandmom and his dad passed away a long time ago. In the US, I never see such lie like that. Don't be shocked or surprised when you encounter that matter,” shared reader Bao Pham.

We would like to thank our foreign and Vietnamese readers for sharing good stories, comments and advice related to working in Vietnam this week. They are very helpful in having a general comparison between company cultures of the east and the west. 
As August marks two thirds of the year 2011, if you still have plans and goals related to your career, it’s time to realize them!

Last but not least, let us end this week’s editorial with our favourite quote by one of the world’s wealthiest man, J. Paul Getty: “Going to work for a large company is like getting on a train. Are you going sixty miles an hour or is the train going sixty miles an hour and you're just sitting still?”

Consider this question by yourself but also don’t forget to enjoy your weekend.

TUOITRENEWS 
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