Young Vietnamese Feel Tired Even Without Heavy Workload: Here's Why

In Vietnam, the struggle with fatigue among young people is a growing concern, as highlighted in this Tuổi Trẻ article. It's not just about long hours, but a pervasive sense of being drained even without excessive workload. The piece delves into the common experience of multitasking, where the mind jumps between tasks, and the constant stream of worries about studies, work, and the future, all of which consume mental energy before any actual work begins.

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I don't do much but I still feel tired. I think I'm probably expending energy thinking about studies, work, and even pressure.

This internal "energy leakage" is further exacerbated by poor work management. Many young individuals, like Thành Đạt, admit to chaotic work habits, jumping between tasks without clear prioritization, leading to a feeling of being constantly behind and exhausted. Ngọc Minh's experience in the tourism sector illustrates this vividly, where constant interruptions and the pressure to manage multiple demands simultaneously leave her feeling perpetually drained.

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I'm not a good manager of my work. When I was working part-time, I saw it most clearly: everything was chaotic. One task piled on another, one task wasn't finished before the next, nothing was in order, which made me exhausted, out of breath.

The article also touches upon the significant energy drain caused by caregiving and family responsibilities, as shared by Đinh Hương. The relentless demands of childcare, coupled with the inability to find personal time, lead to a profound sense of depletion. Even during moments of rest, the mind continues to race with worries, preventing true mental relaxation and contributing to a persistent feeling of exhaustion.

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It's not because I do too much work, but because too many things happen at the same time during the day, like I'm doing one thing but my mind jumps to another, then I remember a message I haven't replied to a customer about a tour booking, a deadline isn't finished... so I always feel out of breath.

From a Vietnamese perspective, this reflects a societal pressure on young people to excel in multiple domains – academics, career, and family – often without adequate support systems. The article implicitly calls for greater awareness and strategies for managing mental energy, emphasizing the importance of personal time and mental breaks, which are often undervalued in a culture that prioritizes hard work and perseverance. The solutions proposed, such as journaling tasks or seeking brief moments of solitude, are practical but underscore the deeper need for a societal shift in understanding and addressing the nuances of modern-day fatigue.

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When the child sleeps, I think I'll do my personal tasks, but as soon as I start, the child wakes up. So I have to put aside all my time to take care of the child, almost no time for myself or anything else. Therefore, it's very easy to run out of energy.