SINGAPORE: An employer who tried talking and then eventually scolded her maid took to social media asking others for advice on dealing with the difficult helper.
In an anonymous post to a Facebook support group for helpers and employers alike, the woman said that her helper had worked for the family for about six months. “We find her work rate is really low, feel that shes rude and she takes safety of my children very lightly (I have 2 young children)”, the employer wrote.
She added that her maid was given a timetable to follow, but she refused. The helper was to start work at 7 am and end work no later than 9 pm, but the maid would only finish her work around 11.30 pm. The woman explained that her previous maid had the same routine and would finish work by 8.30 pm.
“I want her to get enough rest so every single day for 6 months I keep nagging at her to do her work faster. FYI, I help with cooking, shower my kids, grocery shopping, fetch my kids from school at least 3 times a week & with chores, I even vacuum the house sometimes. I have a demanding full time job. I even work at night when everyone is asleep. I help her so much also she cannot fulfil bare minimum”, the woman wrote.
The employer added that once when her maid came back home after dropping her child off at school, the helper did not have house keys to open the gate. “so instead of calling out for me to help open the door, she shook my gate loudly (like loan shark). I ask her why she so rude, she kept quiet”, the employer said.
Under the maid’s care, she said that her baby had fallen many times, even until the child was bleeding.
“How do I get these kind of helper to work with me? I engaged a helper to help me not to bring more stress. That day I told her off her bcos she nvr do work properly, she throw tantrums, she went in the room, don’t want to do work. It was 3pm. So princess mentality? FYI she is a mother of 2. I tried the hard approach (scold/nag) failed, soft approach (sit down and talk, share stories) also failed”, the employer wrote, asking others in the group for advice.
Here’s what they said:
Earlier this year, a tired maid with a lack of sleep took to social media wanting to request her employers to hire a nanny for their child.
In an anonymous post to a support group for helpers and employers alike, the maid wanted advice on how she could convey her situation to her hirer. She wrote that she only got to sleep around midnight but had to wake up around 6 am to start her chores. She got no rest during the day because she had to care for her employer’s baby.
To add insult to injury, the maid wrote that she would sometimes have to sleep with the baby at night if the baby fell sick.
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