Raising children or caring for ageing parents while juggling a full-time job and domestic chores can be downright challenging. This is particularly true if you live in one of the most fast-paced societies in the world. You’ll have to attend to a lot of different things that you’ll hardly get a breather and enjoy time for yourself. This is why it isn’t so surprising that many families in Singapore rely on the services of foreign domestic workers. 

With a maid to care for family members, to perform household chores, and to mind the house while you’re away, you will have more time to take care of other things and to pursue other endeavours. You’ll be able to focus on your career, maintain meaningful relationships, and spend quality time with your loved ones. 

Perhaps you searched online for “maid agency Singapore” a while back because you wanted to hire a maid to help you out. If so, it may not be enough that you only know where to hire a maid and what a domestic helper’s duties are. You may also want to learn about how you can be a good and responsible employer. Remember that you have a significant role to play in creating and maintaining a healthy employer-maid working relationship. If you want to know how you can be a dependable employer, here are some tips for you.

Honour Your Obligations

While employing a domestic helper undoubtedly offers numerous benefits, you should keep in mind that it comes with multiple obligations. This means that one of the most important things you need to do to become a responsible employer is to fulfil your duties. For starters, make sure that you provide your maid with suitable accommodation, adequate food, and other basic needs. If there are certain food items that she cannot eat because of her religious beliefs or for other reasons, do your best to be sensitive and accommodating. 

You should also provide your helper with a safe working environment. That means you shouldn’t  oblige her to climb out and clean the window of your 15^th storey apartment, for example, or perform similar chores that can endanger her in any way. And since you contracted your helper to perform a service for you, the responsible thing to do as her employer is to pay her salary on time.

Set Well-Defined and Realistic Goals

Another effective way to be a responsible employer is to set clear and realistic goals for your maid. No matter how experienced your helper might be, she will probably have a tough time meeting your expectations unless you tell her exactly what you want her to do. To avoid confusion and misunderstanding, you may want to give your helper a daily schedule containing her duties and when you want them done. Alternatively, you can give her a list of tasks and let her plan how to go about her day. Either way, avoid giving your maid a packed schedule or an overly long list of duties that you can’t reasonably do yourself. Keep in mind that your maid also needs rest and time to adjust to her role and new surroundings. Try to be more patient. Guide her well, especially in the beginning, and you will soon reap the benefits. 

Treat Your Maid with Respect

A responsible employer is not a tyrant. You may be paying for your maid’s services, but it does not mean you have the right to force her to do your every bidding, no matter how unreasonable they might be. Your maid is your employee. As such, treat her in the same way you want your company to treat you—with respect. 

Talk to her politely and commend her work if she does a good job. During her day off, encourage her to go out and interact with other people. You may also want to treat her to a meal on her birthday or on other special occasions. If your helper commits a mistake, correct her in a firm yet gentle manner. When you treat your helper with kindness and respect, it also shows your good character.  Moreover, your maid will most likely repay your kindness with hard work, loyalty, and good service.

Recognise Her Needs

A significant part of being a responsible employer is recognising that your maid is human, too. She is not a robot designed to do chores nonstop but a person with physical, mental, and emotional needs like you. That said, treat her accordingly. Give her sufficient and uninterrupted sleep at night so she can recover her strength. Let her eat on time and take periodic breaks. When she is sick, get her proper medical attention. 

You may also want to allow your maid to call her loved ones during lunchtime or off-hours. By doing this, you’ll be able to help in easing her loneliness and homesickness. After all, it isn’t very easy to live far away from one’s family. Ultimately, try to be more sensitive. Your helper will probably be too shy or scared to let you know if she needs anything. 

The strategies above are just some of the things you can do to become a responsible employer to your foreign domestic worker. As you may have realised, the key is to abide by the golden rule—treat your maid as you would like others to treat you. Respect their inherent dignity, ensure their well-being, talk to them kindly, and deal with them fairly. Do all of these things, and you can look forward to a healthy relationship with your helper.

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