Working hours

FutureHKmom

Registered User
I'm curious, what are the working hours of your helper and on average how many hours does she work a day?
Posted via Mobile Device
 
helpers working hours

Hi
I'm really interested in hearing peoples repsonses to this one! In our apartment block most helpers here are working long hours - up from 5/6am with small children and stopping 8-9pm or later at night, often 6-7 days a week!

Our helper starts at 9am-7pm except two days a week where she starts at 7am. She takes one hour for lunch and a 45 minute break when my baby is sleeping somewhere in the day. She is live out so she enjoys leaving the apartment which is a short walk away from our place. I think it gives her that much needed personal space.

Sometimes I think I should hae her start everyday at 7am to help with the school bus run/lunch box organisation? I seem to be the only one rushing around every morning!
 
My helper works very hard, but not the hours you describe. Typical day is:

7-7.15am - helper starts work
7.30am - I leave for work
6.30-7.00pm - I arrive home from work and she finishes

She always has the weekends off - ie all Sat and Sun, except the odd babysitting duty if my husband and I are going out. Also, both girls go to school all day (9-3pm), so there should be some downtime during the day.
 
Our helper is generally up and working by around 7 or 7:30am, and she works on and off until about 8pm. I try to encourage her to go out if she doesn't have anything to do and I don't generally make up random stuff for her to do just to keep her busy... She usually cleans in the morning, then has a break in the afternoon, and works probably the hardest from 4pm when my daughter gets off school to 8pm after dinner. On Saturdays, I encourage her to go out if I don't need anything done but it's not an official "day off".
 
our helper gets up at 5am and starts work at 6am. we asked her to stop working once we sit on the dinner table (usually 8pm) but she insists to clear up afterwards and make the kitchen tidy again. so usually she finishes 10pm or so and goes to bed 11pm.

she has a morning break of 1 hour, a lunch break of 1-2 hours an afternoon break for 1 hour and an evening break of 2 hours. we tried to consolidate it into shorter hours for her and encourage her to have a walk outside or read a book in her room, but she prefers the long day with frequent breaks
 
My helper starts around 7:30am and finishes up after dinner around 8:00pm. She takes her break for lunch and during the afternoon, because she likes to get all the chores - cleaning, laundry, cooking breakfast/lunch - done in the morning. In the afternoon, it's only dinner preparation, which is pretty relaxed. She doesn't have childcare or grocery shopping responsibilities, which is divided among the other adult members of our household (we have live-in parents). On weekends, we tend to eat out more so less meals are prepared at home. She has a day off every week and is off on public holidays, but she doesn't like to go out much because she gets carsick. We encourage her to go out and walk to at least get some exercise, because we have noticed that she's been gaining more weight. We try to encourage her to be healthy, so she sees the dentist/doctor and gets her flu shots along with the rest of the family - which is the easy part. The hard part is getting her to trade her white bread for wheat bread and switching from white rice to brown rice. :)
 
Ours works officially, 7:30 a.m. - 8:30 p.m. (Monday-Saturday). But usually is off at 7 p.m. and doesn't work on Saturdays unless we need her to (which isn't often). If it's a public holiday on Friday/Monday, she gets the whole weekend off.
 
Thanks all for your input - I'm a working mother still on maternity leave after I gave birth to my second child - and since there is a lot more work at home with another child, I'm trying to figure out how to balance out my helper's work schedule each day.

Sea Princess - If she ends work at 7pm, who is in charge of dinner and dishes afterwards?

Jane01 - If she finishes at 7pm, who is in charge of dinner and the dishes afterwards? ALso if she is off on both days of the weekend, does that mean no one cleans on both days of the weekend and no laundry is done?

Quasimother- Same question for you, if she is off by 7pm, who puts dinner on the table and does the dishes? Also, if she is off on Saturdays unless you need her, does that mean that she does not clean the house or do any laundry on the weekends?
 
My children go to bed at around 7.30pm'ish, so they have already eaten. My husband and I generally prepare our own meal, although if I know we're having a busy day, I'll ask her to do some preparation such as turning on the rice cooker and chopping some vegies for a stir fry before we get home. She does all the shopping for our meal during the day.

On the weekend no laundry is done, she does a few big loads on Monday. There are only 4 of us, so not that much washing for just 2 days. I only do minimal cleaning on the weekend - eg. pack/unpack the dishwasher, wipe the table and benches. My daughters have to make their own beds regardless of whether the helper is working, same for my husband and I. My daughters are encouraged to pick up their own toys, but I sometimes spend 10 mins after they have gone to bed doing a quick pick-up.
 
My Helper works 7:30am till 7:30 or 8:00pm, 6 days a week. She has to clean the kitchen before leaving and comes back in the morning and does the dinner dishes/ prepares breakfast (Incase I haven't by then). But keep in mind that I help her a lot through out the day, I mostly make dinner and look after my kids myself (90% of the time) so her work the entire day is very light.
 

About this archive

This is an archive of over 20 years of GeoBaby and GeoSchools knowledge and discussions, kept online as a read-only reference.

Back
Top