Minh, a 27‑year‑old software engineer, earns VND60‑70 million a month from three jobs – a full‑time tech position, night‑time freelance projects and weekend system‑maintenance work. Phuong, a 28‑year‑old teacher, makes nearly VND50 million a month by teaching in a public school, giving evening language classes, translating study‑abroad applications and tutoring on weekends. Both report feeling exhausted and unable to feel happiness despite their high earnings.

Medical director Vuong Nguyen Toan Thien says they illustrate a condition called high‑functioning anhedonia: people keep performing well at work but lose the ability to enjoy life. The pressure to keep up, long hours and a culture that praises constant busyness push many young professionals into this silent burnout.

The World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization estimate that working 55 hours or more each week raises the risk of ischemic heart disease by about 17 % and stroke by 35 %, and in 2016 overtime was linked to 745,000 deaths worldwide.

Employers also feel the cost. After a period of intense output, burnt‑out staff often quit abruptly or see a sharp drop in performance, forcing companies to spend money on recruitment and retraining. This hidden turnover can hurt a business’s bottom line as much as any visible crisis.

Thien suggests four simple habits to break the cycle: set a fixed time each day to shut down the computer; treat sleep as an un‑cancellable meeting on the calendar; take 3‑ to 5‑minute micro‑breaks after long work stretches; and keep at least one activity with no goal, such as walking or cooking.

Recognising early signs of high‑functioning burnout can protect both health and productivity, giving workers a chance to restore joy before serious illness or job loss occurs.