Posted by
jessielibo
18 yrs ago
TV
1.Should helpers be allowed to watch TV? Is it better to authorise them with the right to watch TV than to know that they watch TV while we are out?
Air-conditioners
2. Do you allow your helpers to turn on air-conditioners when they are working? What about when they go to sleep?
Can someone share their opinion about this?
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suze
18 yrs ago
Beware set tv times in stone mine watches her far too much!!!!
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I think aircon makes sense from a commercial (as well as humanitarian) point of view: I know how much manual work I'd get done in this heat if I had no aircon!
TV during working hours? - I've never had a boss who let me watch TV while I was working, and I doubt I ever shall. (Well, except Bloomberg TV.)
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I think aircon is a good idea, I could never live without mine.
As for TV, it depends on whether she would abuse your trust in her. I suppose your idea is for her to watch it in her free time, i.e. after she's finished her work. What you need to beware of is her becoming unwilling to start work in the morning / return to work after a break because she's more interested in the TV.
The problem is that if you try it and it doesn't work out, it's really hard to take away the TV.
Example: With a previous helper I was trying to be nice, so I gave her a CD player to put in her room. What happened is that she played it way too loud, was disturbing the family and refused to turn it down. Whenever I asked her to turn it down, as soon as I left the room she'd turn it back up.
With my present helper, I prefer to give her 'quiet gifts' to amuse her leisure hours, like knitting (which she loves), cross stitch and even painting.
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Thanks Snow Rose. May I ask what nationality is your helper? How I wish to have a helper like yours. My previous and present helpers go on endless chat on their mobile or my landline (not that I mind so long as they get their work done).
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And jessielibo, how I wish I had an employer like you who would let me chat endlessly on his phone provided I got my work done!
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My helper is from the Philippines.
BTW, I don't mean that she never chats with her friends on her mobile, however. She does that as well (in her room, her phone, not on my landline and only in her free time). But she has other hobbies, which I mentioned before and I encourage this.
I feel that if she has a wide range of interests it is good for both us and her. I do my bit by occasionally providing wool / knitting needles etc as gifts / rewards for good work, although I don't consider it to be my sole responsibility to keep her stocked up with craft materials. She should buy some herself with her own money.
I sometimes give practical help to encourage her: I taught her to knit (she didn't know how when she first arrived) and sometimes I send her on YWCA courses. For example, this week she's doing soap-making (just for interest, not profesional development).
Jessielibo ~ you may find your DH chats endlessly on the phone "by default", because she can't think of what else to do. If you were to suggest ideas to her, you might find her more receptive than you had expected. Reading, jigsaws, crafts, painting / sketching, language learning etc are all great ways to pass the time and keep the brain active.
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Snow Rose, do you pay for the YWCA course? Does she take these courses on holiday? (I like this neat idea).
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Airconditioners.
I would ask her if she would like to use them. My maid finds it too cold when they are on so would'nt use them, but I would'nt mind if she did. I don't expect to sleep or work in the heat and would not expect anyone else to either.
TV's
I cannot see a problem with TV provided her work gets done. Lay firm ground rules at the begining and state that you don't want it up too loud or watched at times when she should be working.
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Yes, I pay for the YWCA courses. I don't think many helpers would agree to pay for their own courses. Actually most of the ones my helper's been on were work-related, for example, cooking, first-aid and so on. But occasionally I'll treat her to something more fun, usually as a thank-you for good work / extra work.
Almost all the courses are Mon-Fri and during the day time, so they fall in her work hours.
If you get a membership, you can save money. One thing to bear in mind, however, is that if you spend quite a bit of money training a helper and then for some reason she doesn't work out well and you have to replace her, you've just wasted all your money and effort. You need to be sure she's worth investing in before you start writing out cheques.
You can get more information from the YWCA direct: tel 3476 1340 or www.esmdywca.org.hk
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I don't care how much telly my helper watches as long as she gets the work done. She's free to set the aircon to whatever temperature suits her.
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I would say no to TV. When you're out of the house of course she can (and will...) do as she pleases, but you might find it annoying if it's on all the time when you're around, and also, as someone else has mentioned, would your boss let you watch TV at work? And honestly, would you get as much work done if you could? (How much less work do you get done now than 10 years ago when you had no internet at work...).
Also if you have children, do you want the TV on all the time?
Remember, you can relax your household rules at time goes on but it is very very hard to tighten them up without causing a lot of resentment.
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mrsl
18 yrs ago
You canot expect someone to do physical work (especially ironing) without AC. For some stupid reason, our maid's room does not have AC, so we have told her to let the cool air blow in from adjoining kitchen. If the kitchen door is closed at night, then that is our sign that she is in bed/her room and we stay out of there. It takes some organisation to make sure that we have the baby bottles etc. out, but the tiny DH room would be like an oven at this time of year otherwise.
We have put a cheap TV screen in her room. It is on a different floor to our rooms, so will not bother us.
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I agree - put a TV in her room, and she can watch it when she's finished at night (assuming she gets enough time off in the evening to watch it). A/C or a fan is a must, but remember she might prefer a fan to A/C, so don't assume A/C is always best.
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I've noticed that there is no cable connection in my maid's room so even if I buy her a small TV she probably won't be able to watch the regular channels. As I don't plan to spend money on getting the contractor to come in to line up the cable connection to her room; I am thinking to get her a portable DVD player/viewer so she can watch DVD in her room in her free time. Do you think it is a good idea?
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