Recently, it has become more common to see Vietnamese people working in Japan. Many people wonder why they come to Japan and what goals they have. In fact, Vietnamese people hold different views on work from Japanese people, which is one reason many of them work overseas, including in Japan.

Here, we explain the work values Vietnamese people hold, what they prioritize on the job, and how they build their careers over time.

Vietnamese work value 1: A strong drive for career advancement

Vietnamese people are said to change jobs more often than Japanese people. That is not because they cannot stick with a role, but because Vietnam has its own way of evaluating talent.

In their 20s, they move between companies to advance their careers

In Vietnam, building a career as quickly as possible is seen as a good thing. University students often start working soon after enrollment and, by their fourth year, work in roles close to full-time employment. Because they change jobs every few months to about three years, some people in their 20s already have work histories at around ten companies. Being hired by many companies is taken as a sign of ability and becomes proof of career advancement.

Pay increases are the top criterion

When Vietnamese people change jobs, the primary criterion is salary. A sense of purpose—something Japanese people often emphasize—is not entirely absent, but it is not necessarily the priority. When looking for a new role, the standard is whether pay will go up. Not only the number of job changes, but higher pay is seen as a sign of greater ability. For that reason, salary negotiation is actively pursued in interviews as well.

Loyalty to a single company is not especially strong

Another feature of Vietnamese work values is that loyalty to one company is not particularly strong. Employment in Vietnam is closer to the merit-based systems of Europe and the United States than to Japan’s. If pay is judged not to match ability, employment can be ended quickly. Even if they are let go, Vietnamese people do not tend to become despondent or furious. The relationship is matter-of-fact: they simply start looking for the next job right away.

Vietnamese work value 2: Putting family first

Vietnam has a culture that values family, including relatives, so people also put family first when it comes to work.

Overtime and holiday work are not preferred

Vietnamese people draw a clear line between work and private life. Even if they are single, once working hours end they switch into private mode and head home promptly. Married people put their households first and do not readily take on overtime or holiday work. For that reason, in Vietnam high allowances are paid during Lunar New Year (Tet) to increase the number of people who will come to work.

When sending money home, work comes first

Most Vietnamese people working in Japan—whether unmarried or married—send money to their families. And no matter how much they care about their families, they cannot spend time together while working in Japan. For Vietnamese people working in Japan, earning money comes first, so they tend to take on overtime and holiday work more readily.

Check ahead when inviting them to after-work drinks

When inviting Vietnamese colleagues to after-work drinks, it is considerate to share the plan several days in advance. Married Vietnamese women in particular watch their return times carefully, because even a slightly late arrival can prompt phone calls from family. Regardless of gender, company drinking parties also tend to be seen as an extension of work. For that reason, repeatedly inviting people out of consideration is not always the best approach.

Vietnamese work value 3: Goals and dreams

A fair number of Vietnamese people keep working toward goals and building their careers. The substance of those goals, however, differs somewhat from that of Japanese people.

Earning qualifications to become wealthy

Vietnamese people love money. For that reason, the ultimate goal in working is to become wealthy. For example, when you ask Vietnamese people who diligently pursue qualifications such as the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) what their goals are, they say they want to go to Japan and work at a Japanese company—and ultimately that they want to become rich. In Vietnam, earning qualifications reliably leads to higher pay. In that sense, it may be a realistic goal.

Many also start businesses in their late 20s

Highly capable Vietnamese people often aim to own their own company rather than rise within an existing one. In Vietnam the barrier to starting a business is not especially high, so it is not unusual for young people to found companies in their late 20s. For Vietnamese people, the prosperity of the family line matters. Dual-income households are also mainstream, so cases in which couples launch a company together stand out as well.

Some struggle with goal-directed action

Vietnamese people tend to prioritize enjoyment that is right in front of them and can find it hard to look at things on a five- or ten-year span. So if you meet a Vietnamese person who is acting in a planned way toward a goal, you can reasonably judge them to be high-caliber talent. That said, because they do not always think long term, they also tend to throw themselves into what is immediately before them. There is no need to conclude at once that their ability is low.

Conclusion

For Vietnamese people, money is one of the motivations for work. When pay is delivered reliably, they often perform beyond expectations. Vietnamese people working in Japan in particular often have goals such as career advancement and sending money home, so if you respect a work outlook that prioritizes private life and family, they will frequently become strong contributors.