Self Care for You and Your Helper
School has started, life is CRAZY! And to make matters worse your helper is making rookie mistakes and giving you "dark looks". When times get crazy it helps if we and those around us have some "self-care" habits. I know this sounds crazy when your kids are young, but I still remember coming home from work, and to be greeted by my wife and baby. My wife handed me the baby and said "I'm going riding" or "I'm going shopping" or "see you later". She needed some time to herself, time for self-care. In Hong Kong we rarely get that. We are all working just to stay afloat. And yet, if we're going to last we need to take some time (even 10-15 minutes a day) to care for ourselves.
What do you do to "self-care"?
Your helper also needs time for self-care. Some employers expect their helpers to work from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. with no personal time built into the schedule. The average adult needs 7 hours of sleep per night, so that gives them exactly 1 hour to shower, check in with their families, read Facebook, etc. Many helpers are mothers and have young children they would like to check up on, but by 10 p.m. at night their children are ALL SOUND ASLEEP. So they worry, struggle with home-sickness, think about quitting as a way to stop all the negative emotions they are experiencing.
Besides adequate sleep & food & a full day off, your helper needs some time for self-care. Here are some suggestions you might want to discuss with her.
Exercise: you would be surprised how many helpers are up early and start their day with 10-15 minutes of aerobics or yoga.
A good breakfast with a few minutes to read their phone
A 15-20 min break in the middle of the afternoon where your helper can check in with her children
adequate sleep
reasonable curfew on their day off (9- 10 p.m.)
At Arrow our goal is to help our customers Find and Keep a good helper. We tell helpers that our goal for them is to help them Find and Keep a good job. Self-care is essential if you want your helper to stay for the duration of her contract and then renew again and again.
I'd love to hear your feedback. Have a great day. Take good care of yourself!
All the best,
Allan @ Arrow
What's app: +852 6191-0376
allan@arrowes.hk
PS: Pay it forward: Arrow will give a 5% discount to friends you send our way to find a helper. Just tell them to drop your name and ask for the 5% discount.
