CambodiaGerman1 wrote: ↑Sun Sep 29, 2019 8:14 pm And then I lack the understanding, especially since the families are not really religious and have ties to this festival.

It's not about being religious. It's more about reconnecting with family and village.
I have had personal experience of staff who would rather lose their jobs if they cannot get time off for Pchum Ben or Khmer NY. As someone else said, times are changing, and workplace adjustments are possible by giving time off just before or after the official holidays. But going back to your roots is an important thing for most Khmers.

Cambodia has a labor shortage.

The shit jobs $250 and below are near impossible to live on in PP for a single person not living with family.
Workers can quit these jobs and find a new one within a week.

Wages in SV are now much higher than in PP due to increased cost of living.

It is therefore not surprising that those trying to pay $150 only attract the dregs, who are quite cognizant that they are being exploited and reciprocate the employer's low valuation by putting forth minimal effort.

Family is more important than a shit job.

I might add, that many expats are drawn to Cambodia by the perceived ease of exploiting the locals only to find their perception flawed.

Then they cry about lazy locals.

cadot wrote: ↑Sun Sep 29, 2019 1:08 pm I don’t get this pchum ben day.
New year they go back to hometown
Chinese new year they go back to hometown
Cheng meng they go back to hometown
What else....hmmmm let me think
That’s the only events i can think off,
1 years, they will go back to hometown for 4 times!
The khmer got more holidays then other countries

And if your on hospitality business should be good, otherwise!


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How is this different to another country?
During the holidays, your staff wants to go home. If you want to keep them you'll have to pay them more. They may have 3 to 4 more days holiday than any other country but they get paid way less also so what are you complaining about?
Nothing unusual I think?

Well, it's a "fact" that Cambodia has the most holidays in the world, at least according to worldatlas.com:

WORLD FACTS
Countries With The Most Public Holidays
Cambodia enjoys 28 public holidays per year, the highest number of public holidays in the world.

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/cou ... idays.html

Sri Lanka follows with 25, India and Kazakhstan with 21, Colombia, the Philippines and Trinidad and Tobago with 18, China and Hong Kong with 17, and Thailand, Turkey, and Pakistan with 16.

Also:

"PM: Holidays may be cut as ‘reforms’ near"

https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ ... forms-near

“Singapore has only 11 public holidays, while Cambodia has from 28 to 30 public holidays. Our country is poor, but we have many public holidays. Therefore, I would like to have your understanding."

“If we don’t do this, all businesses would run away from us because [employees] keep demanding salary increases and more holidays. So next year public holidays could be reduced,” he said.

He suggested that the number of days off could remain the same but with people required to work on certain public holidays, with Khmer New Year or Pchum Ben made longer to compensate.

CambodiaGerman1 wrote: ↑Sun Sep 29, 2019 8:14 pm
I've really just met too many foreigners who believe they can open a guest house, bed and breakfast, or just a restaurant and pub without really having a clue about this matter - or indeed - In my opinion, too lazy to work for a success. Instead, they lament and blame the big world for their own mistakes.

What I personally find very bad, because I like culinary diversity...

Yeah, it's a shame, especially in cases where they have obviously sunk a lot of money into a place. Usually, with a few simple ideas borrowed from what other restaurants do (ex. happy hours, mid-week discounts, reward cards, etc.), they could have been a success, which would provide another decent dining option.