Domestic Help Search: Tips To Make your Task Easy

Domestic help is an integral part of households of working couples with children, old parents or pets at home. Contemporary work schedules at workplaces tend to be so hectic and long, people are hardly left with the required energy and time to run the household errands. Therefore, people inevitably resort to domestic help.

However, finding the right kind of domestic help is not a cakewalk. It needs immense amount of effort to find a maid, who can fit your requirements and also is trustworthy enough for you to leave your entire house and your precious family members at their disposal.

Even the choice between a new maid and a transfer maid in Singapore sometimes becomes a tough one. Both have their pros and cons, but the challenge with new maid is their familiarity with the culture as they move from other countries to Singapore. Transfer maids at least know the work culture, the mindset of people and the expectations as they have already been working within Singapore for some time.

In Asia, an expat looking for domestic helper may not understand the difference immediately and may settle for either. However, it is advisable to understand the pros and cons of both first. A new maid in Singapore, who has worked in the country the expat belongs to, might be a good choice for them. However, you must check if the agency you are hiring from has all the background information of the maid. Usually, agencies have better information on a transfer maid in Singapore as they have been around for sometime.

If you are from Asia and an expat in Singapore searching for domestic helper, please ensure your agency has all the information. You must also seek for an opportunity to interview the maid and talk to someone she has worked for earlier. 

3 Common Domestic Helper Issues and How to Deal with Them

In any employer-employee relationship, it is important to establish good working relationship with your domestic helper. Employing a domestic helper is a serious commitment.

You, as the employer, has to make sure that your maid adjusts to the working condition of your home. This means you have to handle domestic helper issues carefully and deal with them without affecting the positive relationship with your house maid.

Problem #1: Maid has difficulty to get along with some family members
Remember that when you hire a house maid through a domestic helper agency, she will need some time to adapt to the new culture, new household, new host environment and new styles of doing things.
Communicate with her often to meet her emotional and psychological needs especially during the first couple of months. If one of your family members has some work issues with the maid, make sure you take charge to solve the problem.

Problem #2: She does not follow your instructions
First and foremost, make sure you are not overloading her with too many household chores. Assuming that her work load is realistic and still she is not able to follow your instructions, then you need to step in and take charge of the management process.
Your helper may have language or communication problem, so you can ask her to write down her own list of tasks that you instructed her to do. Check her work patiently and do praise her efforts.

Problem #3: Some of her habits bother you and your family
Is your maid too nosy into your family’s personal issues? She doesn’t speak up much about herself? She is not good with eldercare or childcare related duties? You can resolve such situations on your own by talking with her directly.
You can also seek help from your domestic helper agency. The house maid agency can give you helpful advice to deal with such problems and provide counseling to your helper if needed.

So, whether you are a Singaporean or Asian expat who has recently hired a domestic helper, you will face these common problems in the course of the maid’s work with you. It is your responsibility to identify the hitches and address them in a professional manner.

What To Do When Your Domestic Helper Decides to Leave

Imagine this situation - you get back home from work, and before you even settle down, your domestic helper comes and tells you that she wants to leave. The reasons of her leaving the job could be many, from personal issues to unsatisfactory work environment. The first thing that will come to your mind in such situation is “What to do now?” As an employer, you might feel very confused when your house maid opens up about leaving the job before the contract ends. If this happens to you, you can do the following things:

Understand her situation:

Why is she leaving? She might have got a higher pay from another employer in Singapore or she could also have some genuine issue back at her homeland. Talk to your domestic helper to know the exact reason. If your helper is working with you for a long period, then chances are she might be planning to leave working as maid and want to live with her family now. If you have recently appointed her, then do make sure that your housemaid is giving genuine reason for ending her contract.

Prepare yourself to handle the change:

You may not find a new maid within a day or two. You have to prepare your mind to handle the changed scenario at your home now. Some things will definitely change at your house, and you might have to do all the household chores all by yourself after your maid leaves for her homeland. Even if you find a new maid with the help of your domestic helper agency in Singapore, you will again have to adjust to the new schedule, teach her a lot about your house rules and convey your expectations to the new domestic helper.

Get help from your house maid agency:

If your current maid is asking you to terminate the contract before it ends, you must seek help from your domestic helper agency. Your agency will help you out with the settlement and legal process, contract termination and other works.

Remember, you hired the maid because you felt she is a good fit for your family. If that was your right decision, then make correct decisions when your domestic helper tells you she wants to leave. Seek help from your domestic helper agency in Singapore to make informed decision in such scenario.