Your helper might be thinking about resigning
Your helper may be thinking about resigning. If your helper has been here 1-6 months she may be getting fed up with our HK culture, the long work hours, demanding and critical supervision, and the lack of good food, rest and encouragement. To make things worse, some employers don't let their employees enjoy their weekly day off, and these employers are "high risk" for losing their employees.
Why you may not be fully aware
Filipinos think differently about work than HK people. In Hong Kong, as long as our bosses pay us on time, we consider it an acceptable job. If we are not satisfied, we will continue working while searching for better opportunities before giving notice.
Filipinos expect to find happiness in their work.
AND if they are unhappy they won't tell you!!!
When you ask them
"Is the food enough? they respond with "yes Ma'am". When asked
"How are you feeling?" they say "Fine".
"Are you ok to clean my mother's house for some extra $$?" "OK"
"Can you work on your day off and I'll pay you extra?" (a very BAD IDEA) they will agree.
They answer this way because they perceive the boss/employee relationship as imbalanced, with you holding all the power. They may not feel safe expressing their discontent or sharing if they are overworked or not receiving enough food. Instead, they endure the bitterness for 2-3 months before ultimately deciding to resign.
Once a helper expresses the idea of resigning, they rarely change their mind. I have attempted to persuade Filipinos not to resign, but once they mention it, they always maintain their stance, stating, "I am no longer happy working for them. I have made up my mind."
"I am no longer happy working for them.
I have made up my mind."
What to do?
As an employer, what can you do to retain your helper and avoid spending additional time and money to hire a replacement? Understand why they are quitting. When an overseas worker decides to resign it is because the combination of push and pull factors are too high. Pull factors are things that might pull her home (e.g., homesickness, culture Shock, etc. ) and Push factors are things employers do to push helpers out the door. (e.g. not enough good food, rest, etc.). Here are some common push/ pull factors:
Focus on What You Have Control Over
Minimize the Push Factors
You control the push factors! You can make sure your helper has enough fresh food (especially rice). You control when her work day finishes, so you can give her enough time to shower, relax, to chat with her loved ones, and to get at least 7 hours of sleep. If she is working more than 14 hours a day, that is excessive. You control your temper. Angry bosses frighten Filipino workers, and frightened workers QUIT. Her performance is NOT the cause of your anger. Many HK employers face the same type of job behavior without losing their tempers. If you are angry all the time, YOU WILL NOT KEEP A FILIPINO HELPER.
Indirectly reduce the Pull Factors
You can't directly control the Pull Factors such as homesickness, loneliness, etc. BUT you can INDIRECTLY influence them. Give your helper enough time to stay in touch with her family and children. Give her a full day off (don't cheat by asking her to do chores on her day off). During the day off she is able to talk Filipino, eat Filipino, BE FILIPINO, send money to her family, laugh and build friendships with other OFWs. Arrow has New Arrival groups on Saturday and Sunday for helpers. At these groups they learn how to cope with homesickness, culture shock, stress of life in HK, etc. If she doesn't have a full day off she may not attend our groups. Too many employers are PUSHING their helpers toward resigning and they are ALSO influencing the STRENGTH of the Pull Factors by putting restrictions on their helper's day off.
Find and Keep a Good Helper
Our goal is to help HK families Find and Keep a Good Helper. Our goal for Filipinos is to help them Find and Keep a Good Job. It is our hope that our customers will cooperate with us to achieve these goals. You don't want to pay $15,000 every 6 months to hire a new helper, and we don't want that for you. As part of our Standard Overseas Package we include an evening New Employer Orientation taught in Cantonese. If you are hiring your first helper or have trouble keeping a helper, please attend NEO. You can What'sapp Kathy Lam the facilitator directly at +852 9603 5956 to sign up for the next NEO.
We hope your helper will work with you and your family for many years!
Allan @ Arrow
