A housemaid or a domestic helper is the kind of a person who regardless of her upbringing, education and culture, adapts herself to your loving family and kids to take care of household chores and all the other domestic duties, thereby easing you and your family from the enormous household workload and stress. So, such a person indisputably deserves your care and security as part of your moral responsibility and ethics. Fair-minded care and concern towards the employee surely come back to you in ways that are sometimes quite astonishing. However, in the case of a domestic helper, a reasonable amount of preparation is generally needed to make the work schedule smooth and seamless.
Supposing the maid has to take care of an infant as a part of her daily schedule, then there are several aspects that have to be considered. First of all, babies do not easily adjust themselves to new people and may get restless due to disquiet. Under such a situation the maid has to be briefed about the habits of the baby. Then the baby has to be slowly allowed to adapt itself to the newcomer of the family, and likewise, the maid also should be given ample time to fine-tune herself with the baby.
In case the maid has been chosen to take care of the old aged persons at home, the case is also quite similar to that of infants, for the reason that even the old aged sometimes are disinclined to new caretakers. In such cases the situation has to be sensibly discussed with the new maid or the caretaker and the instance must be handled with utmost patience which fundamentally happens to be the key factor.
One of the most important aspects that the employer should arrange for is briefing the maid about the household appliances and their utilities, especially if the maid is not familiar with the electrical gadgets and other apparatus. It is certainly a matter of concern to make her familiar with the appliances and most importantly be with her while she learns to use those appliances till she learns to use the utility confidently.
During the initial period of employment, guide her to make sure that she becomes well-versed in the regular household chores. If need be a schedule chart in a language that she understands, clearly mentioning the duties, may be put up in a visibly prominent place so that she does not overlook her assigned duties.
Although the maid agency Singapore may have instructed/briefed her about the job duties, you may have to impart and brief her about your family background, the members in it, their habits and nature, etc. Most importantly you may have to clearly make her understand the mandatory rules and regulations so that she fits into your family and carries out her duties in an impeccable way.
Housemaids are to be necessarily treated as a part of the family. Like you and me, she must be provided with the good food necessary for her living as well as her proper health. She must be mandatorily allowed to rest/sleep for at least eight hours a day to keep her fit and healthy.
Every domestic helper must be trained in first aid and must be conversant with basic medical knowledge. She must be thoroughly trained especially while administering medications to children and the aged. She must be briefed about drugs that certain members of the family are allergic to and so on so that any unpleasant incidents pertaining to medications are averted.
Maids who are exclusively hired to cook need to bring to line their cooking styles and procedures with that of the employer. To achieve this, the employer must guide the housemaid to familiarize herself with the food interests and tastes of the members of the family. She must also be informed about the allergies if any, regarding the food preparations which otherwise may pose an unwelcome scenario within the household.
A specific work schedule along with the responsibilities must be framed, out of which the maid should be made to pick certain activities with her own initiative. This shall make the maid feel important in the household and oblige her to shoulder responsibilities in a more dedicated way.
Regularity of the additional works like cleaning of the kitchen, bathroom toilets, window washing etc. that you expect must be clearly discussed. Under no circumstance should the additional chores be imposed on the maid if you have not discussed or specified them in the job agreement.
Though it is a simple matter of discipline and manners, certain household rules like knocking on the door before entering, unnecessary use of the telephone during work hours, playing music while the child or other elderly person is asleep and so on, must be clarified with the maid especially if she is not from a similar background so that she understands the importance of courtesy that has to be maintained within the household.
Working styles generally vary from person to person. In case the maid does work in a style different from yours, instead of getting fussy over it, try to convince her about the pros and cons of it. But however, the successful completion of the task matters so let her do it if she does not get convinced or prefers to do it in her own style. A complimentary comment must be extended to the maid so that it acts as a morale booster. A small material reward or a gift speaks more than a volume of compliments. Likewise, a small gift for the successful completion of the assigned task will certainly upkeep your dignity and all the same act as a motivation instrument with regard to the maid.
Dependency on another person or the maid to do simple tasks makes the maid stressed and monotonous. Encourage each of your family members to take part in small tasks which leaves a feeling of unity within the family plus the maid psychologically feels that she is being treated well with concern and humanity.
“To err is human and forgive is divine” so says the proverb, likewise if your maid has not been up to your expectation then, instead of abusing or using hard words, try and find out the real cause of the incompetency. Discuss the problem that she may be facing internally, or otherwise and come out with a suitable solution.
The other person’s behaviour generally reflects your behaviour with him/her. So, maintaining a healthy relationship with your maid is absolutely fundamental. A courteous head of the family (employee) always holds excellent repute within the household. This is to be followed in the case of the maid also. The considerate behaviour that you show towards your maid will make her go the extra mile further to satisfy everything regarding the domestic help needs of your family. A happy and cheerful maid not only does domestic chores but also keeps your family environment joyous and cheery always.
Do you want a hassle-free maid hiring process? Click here for more details Maid Agency Singapore
