At 7:30 PM, the apartment of the young couple Tran Duc Loc (34 years old, technical staff in Hanoi) was still brightly lit, but dinner could not begin yet.
He just finished an online meeting with customers, while his wife was also busy handling unfinished work.
The 7-year-old daughter sat studying with her grandmother, occasionally looking up at the clock and asking: "When are you two having dinner with me?".
I used to think about trying to work a few more years for my family to have a better life. But then when I looked back, I realized I was missing my childhood," Mr. Loc shared.
Not only Mr. Loc's family, many workers today are facing pressure to complete targets, work overtime or maintain connection with work even outside of office hours.
Smartphones and online work applications help improve work efficiency but also make the boundary between working hours and family time increasingly fragile.
Reality shows that the absence of conversations, common meals or cohesive activities makes many families gradually become distant.
Marital conflicts, the distance between parents and children do not always originate from major problems, but sometimes stem from the fact that members no longer have enough time to listen and share.
After noticing the changes in their daughter's psychology, Mr. Loc and his wife decided to adjust their rhythm of life. The two agreed not to handle work after 8 pm, prioritize eating with family and spend the whole Sunday on common activities.
Although income has not increased, he believes that in return are laughter and the bond that the whole family had accidentally lost before.
According to experts, balancing work and family is not only the responsibility of each individual but also requires the companionship of businesses through building a flexible working environment, respecting the rest time and personal life of employees.
In the context of an increasingly hurried modern life, success should not only be measured by income or job position. A cohesive family, where family members have time to care for and accompany each other, is still an important foundation for each person to develop long-term.
