As a housewife and a mother, I'm sure I'm not the only one who is facing the dilemma whether or not to have a maid (domestic helper) to assist us in our daily chores.
Personally, I do not really need a maid because I can do all the housework by myself. Thanks to my parents who have done great job for allowing me & my brother to participate in doing the housework since we were very small and we grew up to become a clean-freak.. :) (I think my brother is worst than me.. :)).
But then my other half is the total opposite of me. He can't live without a maid or a helper or someone that picks up his dirty cloths on the floor. He said he has no time to do unimportant things like cleaning up papers from his desk or do the dishes. He prefers to have someone else to do the job.
To me, having a maid is a very serious expense that a family needs to think about more than just twice. The cost of hiring a maid can already burn a big hole in my pocket, not to mention about providing her with health care/insurance and personal necessities which she can just ask for top up anytime, plus, of course, her salary and bonuses. I take it like I am hiring a professional worker but then unfortunately, the maid that I hire is far from a professional worker. She did graduate from a high-school but then just like most maid from Indonesia, my maid comes from a very remote area where electricity is something that the people there are longing to have.
Since this is not my first time having a maid, I can understand her situation. Since the first day she started to work for me, I have been teaching and coaching her so that her work performance is able to meet my standard and expectation. Along the way, I constantly have to lower down my standard and expectation and close one eye if I don't want to get depression.
Not just that. I also need to work around the budget to make sure that she won't burn more holes in my pocket because she just couldn't care less about working carefully with my kitchen & household equipments. Before she came to work with me, I had all electronic fancy household and kitchen equipments to help me doing my chores faster and easier. The expensive things I bought are supposed to last at least more than a year. Though I have constantly reminded my maid NEVER TO TOUCH my fancy equipments, it's just her habit of ignoring my instructions. So, I had to hide away those expensive stuffs and bought the cheaper version or just provide her with the simplest equipment possible.
But then, this will also present me with another problem. Since it's cheaper, the quality is also less. And since my maid works like a robot with no control, she is able to destroy things in matter of days!! Nothing lasts at least a month! So, I have to keep on buying the new ones so that she can continue her work. This is not to mention her attitude problem that I have to bear every time. Oh well, what to expect? I just have to treat her professionally in 1 direction. I can't hope to get a professional work attitude from her since she doesn't even know what it means to be a professional worker... :\
To my other half, all these things are just small matters because to him, the most important thing is that he doesn't have to clean up after his mess and can keep on creating a mess as often as he wants to.
To me, this is a nightmare because I am the one that has to deal with her everyday and I am constantly worry about controlling my expenses.
But then, I have to admit, the maid helps me so that I can do other things such as updating this blog and taking care of my child and my self.
Oh what a dilemma!!Only I and those having the same experiences like me will understand how it really feels... :| Definitely not my other half. We are in a different boat... :(
Personally, I do not really need a maid because I can do all the housework by myself. Thanks to my parents who have done great job for allowing me & my brother to participate in doing the housework since we were very small and we grew up to become a clean-freak.. :) (I think my brother is worst than me.. :)).
But then my other half is the total opposite of me. He can't live without a maid or a helper or someone that picks up his dirty cloths on the floor. He said he has no time to do unimportant things like cleaning up papers from his desk or do the dishes. He prefers to have someone else to do the job.
To me, having a maid is a very serious expense that a family needs to think about more than just twice. The cost of hiring a maid can already burn a big hole in my pocket, not to mention about providing her with health care/insurance and personal necessities which she can just ask for top up anytime, plus, of course, her salary and bonuses. I take it like I am hiring a professional worker but then unfortunately, the maid that I hire is far from a professional worker. She did graduate from a high-school but then just like most maid from Indonesia, my maid comes from a very remote area where electricity is something that the people there are longing to have.
Since this is not my first time having a maid, I can understand her situation. Since the first day she started to work for me, I have been teaching and coaching her so that her work performance is able to meet my standard and expectation. Along the way, I constantly have to lower down my standard and expectation and close one eye if I don't want to get depression.
Not just that. I also need to work around the budget to make sure that she won't burn more holes in my pocket because she just couldn't care less about working carefully with my kitchen & household equipments. Before she came to work with me, I had all electronic fancy household and kitchen equipments to help me doing my chores faster and easier. The expensive things I bought are supposed to last at least more than a year. Though I have constantly reminded my maid NEVER TO TOUCH my fancy equipments, it's just her habit of ignoring my instructions. So, I had to hide away those expensive stuffs and bought the cheaper version or just provide her with the simplest equipment possible.
But then, this will also present me with another problem. Since it's cheaper, the quality is also less. And since my maid works like a robot with no control, she is able to destroy things in matter of days!! Nothing lasts at least a month! So, I have to keep on buying the new ones so that she can continue her work. This is not to mention her attitude problem that I have to bear every time. Oh well, what to expect? I just have to treat her professionally in 1 direction. I can't hope to get a professional work attitude from her since she doesn't even know what it means to be a professional worker... :\
To my other half, all these things are just small matters because to him, the most important thing is that he doesn't have to clean up after his mess and can keep on creating a mess as often as he wants to.
To me, this is a nightmare because I am the one that has to deal with her everyday and I am constantly worry about controlling my expenses.
But then, I have to admit, the maid helps me so that I can do other things such as updating this blog and taking care of my child and my self.
Oh what a dilemma!!Only I and those having the same experiences like me will understand how it really feels... :| Definitely not my other half. We are in a different boat... :(
1 comment:
Similar experience (to that of my wife). She finally decided to get a new maid, and things now have been working much better. The key, in my opinion since I am barely involved, is to get a maid with good reference. Our current one used to work with our close friends in Jakarta before they moved abroad.
Since it is possible with our Indonesian network, don't get one from maid agencies. It's like a lottery.
Post a Comment