Make sure the arrangement you have with your house help leaves her the room to socialise and breathe
Make sure the arrangement you have with your house help leaves her the room to socialise and breathe, or else you’ll pay the price if you close her in. There was a case reported from one Law Digest magazine where the nanny had gotten sexually involved with the teenage son of the boss, infecting him with STI’s. The things she said in her defence were hard to comprehend but important as a warning. She accused her mistress of turning her job into a prison. She was not allowed to step outside the gate on her own, and when they left on Sunday to church she was in the car with them both to and fro.
Even the shopping it was the bosses who did it themselves and her job was only to report what was needed.
She also complained of how the couple would occasionally get romantic in the sitting room oblivious of her presence, or how she would be asked to pick their innerware that had been left after their erotic evenings. She said these things triggered her yet she was denied the room to have love relationships of her own.
Of course nothing justifies such a heinous act as defiling a minor, but the whole story is a warning to not push people to the brink.
The common excuse of denying them freedom is that they might steal from you, but again closing them in brings a greater risk to the well-being of your family.
Day-time assistants have been preferred when circumstances allow, but even when this is not possible you can provide for a detached SQ and assign her specific working hours. This way she knows after 9 pm, say, she will retreat to herself to make calls and catch up with her people. The point is to remember that her family background and financial struggles not withstanding, your nanny is still a human being with other facets of her life besides working for you. Do not try to pocket her or she might blow up on you.
Courtesy Benjamin Zulu
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