It Runs in the Family

What is it like when family members work within the same Group? Well, some cases started off as age-old office romance.

Back in 1994, Wichit Phetchat (MHE, Thailand) would regularly stop by the desk of Rungnulak Sanyathanomrat (HR, Thailand) to ask about his overtime calculations. What began as routine payroll discussions slowly turned into casual conversations, eventually growing into a marriage built on decades of companionship.

What is it like when family members work within the same Group? Well, some cases started off as age-old office romance.

Back in 1994, Wichit Phetchat (MHE, Thailand) would regularly stop by the desk of Rungnulak Sanyathanomrat (HR, Thailand) to ask about his overtime calculations. What began as routine payroll discussions slowly turned into casual conversations, eventually growing into a marriage built on decades of companionship.

More recently, Johnny Yu and Đỗ Thị Thanh Tuyền (both Packaging, Vietnam) first met during onboarding, bonding over shared experiences of living in Ho Chi Minh City and coffee breaks between training sessions. Their relationship gradually grew into marriage and family life, with parts of this story even written from the hospital shortly after they welcomed their second son in May.

Newly engaged couple Allysa Merginio and Hermin Bantilan (both MHE, Philippines) also shared a memorable Christmas party moment when Hermin jokingly told Ally’s boss to stop scolding her because he would “keep her safe by his side”, leaving the room in laughter.

Beyond couples, other family connections also bring humour and familiarity to the workplace. Aunt-and-niece duo Jess Chungand Siou Meng Huey (both MHE, Malaysia) are known for their playful exchanges, with Meng Huey often approaching her aunt carefully with: “Are you free? You don’t be angry ah…”Jess would immediately reply, “Whether I’m angry depends on your question.”

Siblings Devi Maulida Savitri and Muhammad Rizky Ardiansyah (both Packaging, Indonesia), meanwhile, enjoy surprising colleagues, who often cannot believe they are related at all because, as co-workers like to point out, “they don’t look alike”.

While industry practices are not in favour of family relations at work, across Jebsen & Jessen common sense prevails ensuring relatives are not in direct reporting lines. Sometimes, it also invites harmless teasing among colleagues.