Ordering food together in the afternoon: Is refusing to order together considered unsociable?

Every afternoon, the whole office gets together to order bubble tea and snacks. Not ordering makes us feel left out and out of place, but ordering together means we worry about running out of our salaries.

Many young working people spend a small amount each day on "afternoon tea culture" such as bubble tea, coffee, and snacks with colleagues - Illustration photo: LE HUY

At 3 PM, a message appeared with a link to order drinks and bubble tea for the whole office. Many young people who had just started working didn't want to order but still reluctantly joined in, fearing they might be seen as unsociable.

I did an internship and earned 3 million VND, but the money I spent on bubble tea exceeded my income.

"When I was an intern, my salary was 3 million VND, but every lunchtime my colleagues would invite me for coffee. At the end of the month, my food expenses even exceeded my salary," said Ngoc Anh (25 years old, an office worker in Ho Chi Minh City).

There were days when she didn't intend to participate, but everyone still invited her to join in for fun, making it a little awkward to refuse sometimes.

Ánh admitted that coffee and bubble tea outings with colleagues helped her become closer to everyone in the company.

"I had a good relationship with the staff, and after my internship, I was offered a full-time position without any further interviews," Anh said.

Bao Linh (23 years old, a communications employee in Ho Chi Minh City) said she spends about 800,000 VND per month on "afternoon tea culture".

"When I first started working, it was very stressful. If my colleagues invited me to order and I didn't, they'd think I wasn't sociable. However, most of the decisions still came from my own preference; I just ordered because I liked the drinks, and nobody forced me," Linh expressed.

After working for a while, Linh gradually became more comfortable with this. Linh added that her company and many other companies have separate allowances for things like lunch or afternoon tea, considered as "offers" in addition to salary and bonuses, to improve the quality and experience of work for employees.

In addition, many places also prepare a separate area for employees to buy cakes, fruits, yogurt, packaged tea, packaged coffee, etc.

Not ordering bubble tea together might be seen as "unsociable," and adults wonder where all that money comes from?

Khanh Ha (24 years old, a communications employee in Ho Chi Minh City) believes that ordering bubble tea or afternoon snacks in groups at the office has become normal; whoever wants to can order, otherwise they don't.

"When I first started working, I felt a little out of place when everyone else ordered drinks and I wasn't participating, but I gradually got used to that feeling," Ha recounted.

Ha said her company doesn't have a fixed "afternoon tea culture." Usually, when someone wants to have some, they'll send a link to the group so everyone can order together for convenience, save on delivery fees, and also get a discount code.

Ha added that the occasions when the whole group orders together are usually on events like birthdays, promotions, or farewells to colleagues. On ordinary days, people mainly order because they are thirsty or craving snacks.

Ha also believes that financial pressure often comes from new employees, especially when they are still getting acquainted and integrating into the team. As for long-time employees, whether or not to drink is a personal matter; they order if they like, otherwise they don't.

Ms. Thanh Hang (35 years old, an office worker in Hue ) recounts that after many years of working, she has noticed that the "afternoon tea culture" used to be almost non-existent. In the afternoon, people would prepare their own meals or eat something quick.

She expressed that many young people today are under work pressure, many work continuously, even overtime, and have many tasks each day, so ordering bubble tea or a snack in the afternoon is also a personal need.

However, what worries many older employees in the company is that they order food and bubble tea every day. Roughly calculated, that amounts to tens to hundreds of thousands of dong per person per day, so the monthly cost for this is quite substantial.

LE HUY

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/chieu-chieu-cung-dat-do-an-tu-choi-dat-chung-co-bi-coi-la-khong-hoa-dong-20260508121758739.htm