Stephen Mach, a 37-year old Chinese-Vietnamese American legal assistant living in Los Angeles, said that during Lunar New Year this year, instead of filing manila folders at his law office, he’ll be handing out red envelopes.
Mach represents the growing number of young professionals who are taking time off work that day, which this year falls on Feb. 10, even though it’s not a company holiday. That’s thanks to greater awareness of the holiday, cultural acceptance at work, support from employee resource groups and more, according to employees and diversity experts.
Lunar New Year — which encompasses Chinese New Year, Tết in Vietnam, Seollal in Korea and more — marks the beginning of the year and celebrates the arrival of spring on the lunisolar calendar. The holiday is celebrated by an estimated 2 billion people worldwide, and, in countries where the holiday is observed, it is typical to take at least a few days off work and school to celebrate with friends and family.
Jean Lee, CEO of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, said that companies have become very sensitive to requests by employees, offering floating holidays as a way to allow employees flexible paid time off. “Most of our member companies and firms even recognize special holidays like Diwali, like Lunar New Year, in the same way, culturally, people recognize you know, like Rosh Hashana,” Lee said.
Mach said he’s fortunate enough to work for a law firm headed by a Chinese employer of Vietnamese origin, who understands the cultural importance of Lunar New Year.
Despite it falling on a Saturday this year, his employer is allowing any employees who may celebrate to take either Friday or Monday off as a floating holiday. He added that previous employers did not allow him time off for the cultural holiday. This allows him to spend the time cooking up a large family dinner and getting his fill all weekend of classic Vietnamese New Year dishes at a convention center in Southern…
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