Vietnam’s youth join Chinese trend of ‘lying flat’ as pay stagnates amid booming economy

Vietnam’s economic gains are rarely felt among many of the young and poorly paid Vietnamese employed outside tech and manufacturing sectors

High interest rates and low supply have affected housing, a top concern for young workers who pay rent, and those hoping to own their first home

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Groups of young Vietnamese people enjoy dinner at an open-air restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnamese youth are starting to question the purpose of work in an economy where spoils are increasingly out of reach of the young. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 9:30am, 12 Nov 2023

A popular Facebook page where young Vietnamese workers share screen grabs of pitiful pay cheques and grumble about bosses, customers and colleagues is revealing the growing angst being felt among Vietnam’s youth, who are nevertheless fuelling an economic surge.

With a large, young and cheap labour pool, Vietnam is Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing major economy, tagged by global firms like Dell, Apple and Microsoft as the next big thing in the region – and a safe space to shift parts of their supply chain away from China.

But the economic gains are not being felt among many of the young and poorly paid Vietnamese employed outside tech and manufacturing sectors.

A Vietnamese version of “lying flat” – coined by frustrated mainland Chinese youth who had taken to doing the bare minimum to get by in life – is emerging, prompting Vietnam’s young people to question the purpose of their work in an economy that increasingly places the spoils of growth out of reach for the young.

Vietnamese students celebrate graduation by throwing gowns and hats in the air outside the Saigon Central Post Office. Photo: Shutterstock

The expletive-strewn Facebook page already has 828,000 followers, and membership requires an affirmative answer to the simple question: “Are you getting bored of working?”

Vietnam’s youth join Chinese trend of ‘lying flat’ as pay stagnates amid booming economy

Vietnam’s economic gains are rarely felt among many of the young and poorly paid Vietnamese employed outside tech and manufacturing sectors High interest rates and low supply have affected housing, a top concern for young workers who pay rent, and those hoping to own their first home

Vietnam’s economic gains are rarely felt among many of the young and poorly paid Vietnamese employed outside tech and manufacturing sectors

High interest rates and low supply have affected housing, a top concern for young workers who pay rent, and those hoping to own their first home