Mr. Hieu was born in 2004, from Tuyen Quang, nearly 6 months working as a worker, he has become accustomed to the "downtime" pace of life - working at night, sleeping during the day to exchange for an income of nearly 15 million VND/month.
He works about 12 hours a day, Mr. Hieu mainly registers for night shifts - from 6 pm to 6 am the next morning. "Doing night shifts is supported with additional food money, product inspection allowance... so the income is better. Every week I try to register for overtime," he said.
According to regulations, each week the company arranges a maximum of 60 working hours, 1 day off after 6 consecutive days. His group of about 40 people, taking turns working overtime.
However, what makes the young male worker most "reluctant" is the shift changes days. "Being used to staying up late, switching to the morning shift from 6 am is very difficult to adapt. Some days, even if I don't get enough sleep, I still have to go to work," he shared.
However, for Mr. Hieu, hardship is acceptable. "When you are young, you have to try. Working overtime a lot to save money, but working office hours does not save much," he said.
In fact, Mr. Hieu's story reflects a common trend in the young labor force today. According to the Statistics Department (Ministry of Finance), in the first quarter of 2026, the average income of workers in the first quarter of 2026 continued to improve, reaching 9.0 million VND/month, an increase of 329 thousand VND (equivalent to 3.8%) compared to the previous quarter and an increase of 706 thousand VND (equivalent to 8.5%) compared to the same period last year.
In which, the average income of male workers is 10.1 million VND/month; female workers is 7.7 million VND/month; urban workers are 10.7 million VND/month; rural workers are 7.9 million VND/month.
This means that without overtime, the income of many workers only fluctuates around the average level - enough to maintain basic living but difficult to accumulate.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan (22 years old, from Phu Tho), working at an electronics company in this industrial park, said that if she only works office hours, her income is about 7-8 million VND/month (including allowances).
If I want my income to increase to 13-15 million VND, I have to work overtime almost regularly. Some months I work full-time, only taking 1 day off/week," she said.
According to Ms. Lan, working at night continuously reduces health, but if you don't work overtime, "you won't have enough money to send home, and you won't have savings". This is also a common concern for many young workers when standing between choosing income or health.
Meanwhile, the regional minimum wage in 2026 for region IV is at least 3.7 million VND/month, region I is 5.31 million VND/month, this is the floor level for businesses to pay wages. To achieve a stable living standard, workers are forced to work overtime or depend on allowances.
For young workers like Mr. Hieu, overnight shifts are not only a way to make a living, but also a way for them to sacrifice their youth to accumulate.
