I am lucky to live as an expat in a country where it is the norm (although definately not the norm back home) to employ help to “assist” you run your house, whether it be cleaning, kids, or most commonly both! I know a lot of expats probably wouldn’t have the luxury of employing help back home but in this country the costs are affordable and the service is widely used.
HOWEVER, why do we treat them like dogs? Yes! I said it. DOGS. I’m getting right to the point. No fannying about. Why do we think they only deserve the bare minimum because if you give them too much you are “spoiling them”… I’m sorry, what?! And in a lot of the cases, this woman is probably older than you, or even have more kids than you, and more experienced, even! But yet, we have this little niggling power trip side of us, which holds the key to how much they eat, how much they sleep, and how much they actually enjoy themselves! for fear of spoiling them…they aren’t kids. You can’t spoil them. They’re adults in your home who have basic human rights. Who are we to have this hold over them, deny them days off, deny them quality food, or even their privacy! This sounds crazy, no? But isn’t this what some of us are doing?
The law of the country says we must give maids at least one day off a week. ONE DAY. Some people feel they aren’t even entitled to that one day. Or that the maid gets to come out to the park with the family and that constitutes as time off. Sorry, me going out with my boss and her kids is not time-off. Not only that, some people are even not giving the full day, and letting the maid leave at a certain time and must return at a certain time, because we must have our lie-ins, must we! That isn’t a day off at all! How can you trust this person with your kids, and your household, if they constantly have to be switched on to be at your beck and call, with hardly any points of rest or down time?
Your maid gets paid less than you, and has the responsibility of looking after your children! Your children! The treasures that you cherish most in the world. And you reward her by not giving her the time she needs to rest, or the food she needs to eat! I knew someone (not anymore, the cheap-ass) who would constantly buy really cheap food for their maid, but then amazing quality food for themselves and actually justified it by saying “this is what they are used to”!!!
I’m probably not talking to you but we all know someone who does this. And when you ask them why they behave like this it’s because they’ve been burnt before by a maid that may have stolen from them, or a lazy maid, or in any way betrays their trust. I get that. I was called naive (and still am) by many people for letting my maid have the night off before her scheduled day off, or for letting her order what she likes for food, or for giving her Xmas, or New years Eve off. So giving people their basic rights is naive? MY kids are my own responsibility. If I can give her some time to relax, I will do. Especially since she has given me huge opportunities to relax every day. The better I treat her, the more calm and patient she is with my kids, and actually the better a maid she is. But even if she wasn’t so good, I would still give her the basic rights of a human being. She is someone’s mother, or sister, or Aunty. How would you feel if it was your family member? She may never complain to you, but inside she knows whether she is being treated fairly or not. She is so close to your precious family. So even if none of this post speaks to you, for the sake of your family; treat them well.
The logical butterfly 