Ling is less adverse to the idea of having home helpers. I\u2019m on the other hand dead-set against it and want to only consider it as a last resort when we absolutely cannot manage at all. Many reasons.<\/p>\n
Reason #1<\/strong><\/em>. I\u2019m personally conflicted about how I should see a home helper, and can imagine the mental wrestling eating me. Do I\u2026<\/p>\n See her as an employee and adopt a superordinate-subordinate relationship?<\/p>\n See her as a friend and adopt a genial and tolerant disposition?<\/p>\n Ok, so many people will tell you there\u2019s plenty of grey in between. You can be a super-nice yet firm employer! But I\u2019ll have problems even with that\u2026 it\u2019s personally difficult for me to be firm in a superordinate capacity and yet be nice at the same time. Character flaw.<\/p>\n Reason #2<\/strong><\/em>. I\u2019m nervous. Just imagining a scenario where the home helper is alone at home with Hannah gives me the creeps.<\/p>\n Reason #3<\/strong><\/em>. Loss of privacy. To have someone whom I know little about lodging at our place before I properly know that person first unsettles me a lot.<\/p>\n And when problems come in, support for home helper employers in Singapore is piss poor. The newspapers, forums and Internet sites are abound with letters accounting incidents with helpers who bring their boyfriends back home, who get pregnant, who steal etc. Just the other day<\/a> on The Straits Times\u2026<\/p>\n In December last year, my wife and I hired a maid through an agency. She had been with us for about a month when we had to let her go due to misconduct.<\/p>\n As per our contract, our maid agency was supposed to provide us with a suitable replacement. We waited for weeks for the agency to contact us but to no avail. After repeated calls and visits, we were told the agency would send us a few biodata of possible replacements to choose from. To our surprise, we were sent the same profiles of maids we had seen earlier and rejected. The biodata were simply recycled.<\/p>\n \u2026<\/p>\n It has been three weeks and we have not heard from AEAS (Association of Employment Agencies, Singapore). After all this, it was ironic to read AEAS\u2019 Forum reply assuring readers of its commitment to investigate fairly and responsibly, and take action against errant agencies if need be.<\/p>\n As confused consumers who have been taken on a wild goose chase by AEAS, my wife and I would like to ask a simple question. As \u2018aggrieved employers\u2019, are we supposed to take matters into our own hands in hiring our own lawyer, or do we solicit the help of the Ministry of Manpower to ensure agency audit and employers\u2019 rights protection?<\/p>\n And there are many<\/em> such letters. Maybe there will come a point in time where there\u2019re no other options but to engage home helper assistance. But until that time comes, I think I\u2019d rather think (very hard) and explore other options first.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ling is less adverse to the idea of having home helpers. I\u2019m on the other hand dead-set against it and want to only consider it as a last resort when we absolutely cannot manage at all. Many reasons. Reason #1.<\/p>\n