Vietnam continues to rank among the top sources of foreign workers in Japan, with hiring expanding especially in manufacturing, nursing care, construction, and IT. Even so, hiring managers keep reporting the same issues: “They are highly capable, yet leave within one to two years,” “Sudden leave requests cluster at certain times of year,” and “They are motivated, but something does not fit.” In many cases, the root cause is that workplaces do not accurately understand Vietnamese family values and how people approach work.

This article explains the place of family in Vietnamese culture, the practical workplace impact of life events such as home visits, ceremonial occasions, and Lunar New Year (Tet), and concrete actions hiring managers and HR teams should take to improve retention. For fundamentals on status of residence and related systems, also see Basics of Hiring Foreign Talent.

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Cultural background: why Vietnamese people put family first

In Vietnamese society, family is not merely a “private relationship.” It is a community that forms a person’s identity itself. A family order rooted in Confucian thought has been embedded for centuries, and the value that “protecting one’s family is a natural human duty” is widely shared in both urban and rural areas. If workplace management proceeds without this understanding, managers cannot accurately interpret leave requests or absences and may wrongly conclude that someone “lacks a sense of responsibility.”

Concretely, the following ways of thinking show up in everyday behavior.

  • Remittances to parents as a natural duty: Especially for young people from rural areas, sending roughly 20–40% of monthly income to their parents is described not as shame or a burden, but as a source of pride. Strong interest in pay levels is rooted in this remittance culture. What drives hiring decisions is not only the stated salary, but “real disposable income” after take-home pay and housing costs.
  • Support for siblings’ education and living costs: It is not unusual for eldest sons and daughters to cover younger siblings’ education costs. The sense of “earning only for myself” is weak; people work with the family’s overall economic situation in mind.
  • Ancestral rites and death anniversaries: On death anniversaries based on the lunar calendar, families gather even from far away. This is received less as a “religious event” than as a “family duty,” and absence can invite social and family criticism.
  • Full participation in weddings and funerals: Relatives’ weddings and funerals involve a wider network than is typical in Japan. Even for more distant relatives, the sense that “not attending is unthinkable” is strong, and this is a major cause of sudden leave requests.
  • “Face” linked to family reputation: The “shame” Vietnamese talent feel at work is not limited to personal failure; it is directly tied to the family’s reputation. Poor evaluations or workplace trouble are constantly weighed as “impact on the family,” and how feedback is delivered can worsen the relationship.

These values do not come from “laziness that puts family above work,” but from “a sense of responsibility as a member of the family community.” Whether hiring managers understand this point greatly changes the quality of interview questions and relationship-building after joining.

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Common on-site issues: coordinating home leave, ceremonies, and Tet

The following three patterns repeatedly appear as common on-site consultations. We also outline a direction for responding to each.

Issue 1: Long leave is requested during Tet (Lunar New Year), overlapping with a busy period

Tet, falling on the first day of the first lunar month, is Vietnam’s largest holiday and is so important that people feel they “cannot face their family” if they do not go home. In 2027, Lunar New Year’s Day falls on February 17, and every year talent concentrate requests for about 5–10 days of home leave around this period. It often overlaps with manufacturing’s post-New Year busy season or the food industry’s fiscal-year transition, leading directly to managers’ concern that “approving the request will throw off balance with other team members.” Effective responses are a three-step system design: (1) confirm annual paid-leave plans at onboarding, (2) require advance declaration of desired Tet home-leave periods and grant leave in a planned way, and (3) expressly define Tet leave as “special leave” in work rules.

Issue 2: Sudden return home is needed because a parent is ill or undergoing surgery

In Vietnam, family members often accompany and care for parents during hospitalization or surgery. The Japanese sense of “leaving it to hospital staff” does not travel well, and a situation in which “a child is not present when a parent has surgery” invites strong family and social criticism. Treating sudden long absences as “discipline violations” without understanding the background raises the risk that strong performers will resign abruptly. It is important to prepare in advance an approval flow for “unpaid special leave” premised on emergency return home.

Issue 3: Multi-day leave is requested for a cousin’s wedding

From a Japanese perspective, people often think “one day is enough for a cousin’s wedding,” but Vietnamese weddings frequently span multiple days and events, and guests traveling from afar plan several days including lodging. Interrogating someone with “Why do you need that much time off?” easily damages the relationship and can turn into a resignation motive: “This company does not understand important family moments.”

Workplace communication cases with Myanmar talent also introduce similar cultural considerations, but across talent from Southeast Asia more broadly, accurately understanding the weight of family events is the starting point for retention support.

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Failure patterns and how to avoid them: turnover caused by HR that ignores family values

Organizing failure patterns and countermeasures, the following cases are repeatedly confirmed as major drivers of poor retention.

Failure pattern 1: Mechanically applying the practice that “paid leave starts after six months”

Under the Labor Standards Act, paid leave must be granted from six months after joining (e-Gov, Labor Standards Act Article 39), and this operation itself is lawful. However, if Tet arrives in the third month after joining and the only response is “no paid leave yet, so it is treated as absence,” Vietnamese talent may react with a strong sense of rejection: “Are you telling me to put the company above my family?” Preparing at onboarding a “special paid-leave advance” system or an operation that approves unpaid leave is an effective way to avoid this.

Failure pattern 2: Setting pay levels without considering remittances

Even if minimum wage standards are met, if disposable income after rent, food, and communication costs falls below the amount that can be remitted, Vietnamese talent immediately begin job hunting. Explicitly stating “monthly take-home pay” when presenting compensation, and raising real disposable income through in-kind benefits such as housing or meal allowances, strengthens retention. It is also effective at the interview stage to ask frankly, “Including remittances to your family, how much take-home pay do you need each month?”

Failure pattern 3: Running interviews that treat family circumstances as “personal matters” and never ask

Japanese HR staff often see “not stepping into private life” as consideration, but for Vietnamese talent it can look like “they will not listen to my family story = they have no interest in me.” Naturally raising family circumstances, remittance amounts, and home-leave plans in regular one-on-ones helps detect early signs of turnover. Simply building questions that draw out family topics into the interview sheet raises the early detection rate for resignation risk.

Failure pattern 4: Sudden resignation letters after Tet

Cases in which people return home for Tet and, encouraged by family or friends, decide to change jobs or return to Vietnam are the most common resignation timing across the year. Directly confirming in December and January before Tet whether someone wants to keep working there next year, and surfacing dissatisfaction early, is the most effective countermeasure. If managers report that “a resignation letter arrived right after Tet,” the design of the one-on-one cycle needs a fundamental review.

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Points hiring managers often miss: lunar calendar, rites, and filial practice in reality

We emphasize the following three points that hiring managers often overlook. All are typical of “trouble that could have been prevented if known.”

Point 1: An annual calendar that moves on a lunar basis

Vietnam’s major annual events are set by the lunar calendar. In addition to Tet, key occasions include Thanh Minh (Qingming, ancestral grave visits in early lunar March), Vu Lan / Trung Nguyen (lunar July 15), and Tet Trung Thu (Mid-Autumn Festival, lunar August 15). Because their Gregorian dates change every year, they are almost never included in Japanese managers’ annual shift plans. To avoid the misunderstanding that someone is “taking sudden leave again,” share a list of lunar events at onboarding and create a mechanism that encourages early declaration, reducing operational friction.

Point 2: Treat ancestral rites as “family ritual” more than “religion”

Vietnamese ancestor veneration (tam linh) is a custom mixing Buddhism, Taoism, and indigenous beliefs, and is practiced in many households regardless of affiliation with a particular religion. Judging that “it is not a religious reason, so no consideration is needed” is a mistake. Accommodation for participation in family rituals should be treated as culturally reasonable consideration, and operations stabilize when work rules list “religious events and family rituals” under ceremonial leave items.

Point 3: Family accompaniment requirements under status of residence directly affect retention motivation

For Vietnamese talent who want long-term retention, “whether they can bring family to Japan” is a major concern. Whether family accompaniment is allowed differs by type of status of residence, and if this is not made clear before hiring, trouble arises in the form of “this is not what I was told.” Explainer on status of residence for highly skilled foreign professionals details requirements for various statuses, including Dependent visas. Always confirm accurate residence administration information on the official website of the Immigration Services Agency of Japan.

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Decision criteria: how far to institutionalize family-related accommodation

As decision criteria, when considering institutionalizing family accommodation at work, it is important to design along two axes: “Is it a universal system applicable to all employees?” and “Does it avoid preferential treatment for only one nationality?” Special treatment for only one nationality can create a sense of unfairness among Japanese employees and risk dividing the workplace.

The following system-design frame is effective in practice.

  • Multipurpose special leave: By establishing “special paid leave (about 3–5 days per year)” for all employees covering ceremonies, home leave, and family caregiving, the system becomes usable not only by Vietnamese talent but by international talent in general and Japanese employees as well. “Having an easy-to-use leave system” itself becomes a strength of the employer brand.
  • Incentives for advance declaration: Setting a rule that long leave requests declared three or more months in advance receive priority approval can reduce last-minute sudden requests. Planned leave-taking also reduces management costs.
  • Flexible online work options: Creating an environment in which work contact and light responses are possible by smartphone or PC even during home leave makes it easier to balance long home stays with business continuity. However, “forcing work during leave” can create working-hours management problems, so it must remain within a voluntary scope.
  • Consultation desk and multilingual support: Clearly designating staff who can handle daily-life consultation and family-related emergencies enables early intervention before problems grow.

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare publishes the “Guidelines on the Improvement of Employment Management of Foreign Workers,” which expressly state employers’ duty of effort toward stability of daily life and workplace retention for international talent; consideration for cultural background is also important from a compliance perspective. If you want to build consistent support from hiring through retention, please contact Foreign Talent Insights.

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Practical checklist: workplace setup to support retention of Vietnamese talent

Review the following practical checklist in three stages: before hiring, at onboarding, and after joining. Assign a check owner by department and review quarterly.

[Pre-hiring checks]

  • Does the hiring team understand the outline and months of Vietnam’s lunar annual events (Tet, Thanh Minh, Vu Lan, Mid-Autumn Festival)?
  • Can you estimate “real disposable income” premised on remittance culture (base pay minus rough rent, food, and communication costs)?
  • Have you confirmed in advance the status of residence requirements if family accompaniment is desired (Immigration Services Agency of Japan)?
  • Do work rules expressly allow multipurpose application of ceremonial leave and special leave?
  • Have you cross-checked the Tet period against your busy seasons and shift structure?

[Onboarding checks]

  • Do you provide an advance declaration form or annual calendar for lunar events?
  • Have you scheduled an initial interview (daily-life consultation) to understand remittances and family circumstances?
  • Have you cross-checked busyness during the Tet period (two weeks before and after) against remaining paid-leave days?
  • Have you properly completed the Notification of the Employment Status of Foreign Nationals to Hello Work (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare)?
  • Have you clearly explained to the individual the approval flow and contacts if emergency return home is needed?

[Post-joining checks (3 months, 6 months, 1 year)]

  • In regular one-on-ones, do you confirm remittance status to family and home-leave wishes?
  • Before Tet (December–January), do you hold a meeting to confirm intent to continue into the next year?
  • When there is sudden absence or lateness, do you check whether family events or family emergencies are in the background?
  • Is mentoring with senior employees of the same nationality or support staff functioning?
  • Are work instructions and communication adjusted to the person’s Japanese-language ability?

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Diagram: pre-hiring confirmation flow (text version)

The confirmation flow when considering hiring Vietnamese talent is shown below. In actual operations, manage it in combination with your HR system or spreadsheets.

Step 1: Confirm job requirements Confirm in advance the type of status of residence, whether family accompaniment is allowed, and pay level (take-home pay and remittance capacity). Always refer to notices from the Immigration Services Agency of Japan for the required status of residence, and verify consistency with your employment arrangement.

Step 2: Share cultural background information Share in advance with the hiring team and frontline managers an overview of Vietnam’s lunar calendar, family values, and ritual culture. Confirm whether Tet (Lunar New Year) overlaps with your busy season or closing period, and decide a response policy.

Step 3: Design interviews and one-on-ones Build into the interview sheet questions related to family values and economic motives, such as “What kind of working style do you need to meet family pressure and expectations?” and “How much take-home pay do you need each month?” It is important to intentionally create an atmosphere in which candidates can speak frankly.

Step 4: Final confirmation of the offer Share an estimate of actual take-home pay including base pay, allowances, housing support, and meal support together with the offer letter. State rules on long leave requests such as Tet not only orally but also in writing.

Step 5: Set up post-joining support Designate before joining a daily-life consultation contact, interpretation support, and a mentoring senior employee. Prepare a contact flow that can handle family-related emergencies and communicate it to the individual.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1. Do companies subsidize travel costs for returning home during Tet?

There is no legal obligation, but some companies offer benefits such as a “home-visit subsidy” or partial reimbursement of airfare. In many cases, establishing leave policies that are easy to request is more cost-effective than direct financial support, so we recommend starting with policy design. If you introduce a subsidy program, it is preferable to design it to cover all employees, including Japanese staff.

Q2. Do Vietnamese talent want to settle in Japan long term?

Preferences vary by individual. The support needed differs significantly between talent who want to return home in three to five years and put their skills to use, and those aiming for permanent residence and family reunification. It is important to confirm career aspirations specifically in hiring interviews and match them against the type of status of residence (see Explaining Status of Residence for Highly Skilled Foreign Professionals).

Q3. How should we respond when a sudden long-term return home is needed due to a parent’s illness or death?

It is important for labor and management to agree in advance whether to approve unpaid special leave as an “emergency return-home policy,” or to grant unused paid leave in advance. Explicitly guaranteeing a return to work after coming back can help prevent sudden resignations. Always confirm procedures related to departure and re-entry with the Immigration Services Agency of Japan.

Q4. Are religious accommodations (prayer times and dietary restrictions) also needed for Vietnamese talent?

The majority in Vietnam follow Buddhism or folk beliefs, and cases requiring specific prayer times or strict dietary restrictions like those in Islam are relatively few. However, some people observe “vegetarian days” on the 1st and 15th of the lunar calendar when they avoid meat, so if you have a company cafeteria or meal subsidies, check that plant-based menu options are available.

Q5. Where can we find information on recruiting and retaining international talent in general?

Fundamentals of Hiring Foreign Nationals and the Hello Work pages on employing foreign nationals (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare) provide comprehensive information. For individual hiring challenges and building retention support systems, please contact Foreign Talent Insights.

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The shortest path to improving retention of Vietnamese talent is to advance both “policy development” and “cultural understanding” at the same time. Starting from the value axis of family perspectives, many questions such as “Why do they suddenly quit?” and “Why do they need time off at that particular time?” become clearer with concrete answers. From pre-hire information sharing through post-hire interview design, use this article’s checklist to reassess your company’s retention support system. The accumulation of small policy changes becomes the foundation for long-term relationship building.

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