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?
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Working hours
- Thread starter FutureHKmom
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sea princess
Registered User
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!
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.
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.
nicolejoy
Registered User
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
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. 
TheQuasimother
Registered User
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.
FutureHKmom
Registered User
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?
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.
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.
joyofliving
Registered User
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.
TheQuasimother
Registered User
When I'm working (currently on maternity leave) I'm home by 5:30 and do everything that needs to be done with my kids e.g. bath, read, clean, feed etc. She cooks a simple meal (with my instructions) that takes no more than half an hour to prepare, tidies up while we eat and washes our dishes when we're done. By 7, she's done. I'm not done as my son has just stepped in the bath but she is.
While I'm currently on maternity leave, we have been practicing this routine too as I head back to work in mid December.
Weekends - I do laundry (two loads each day), cook and clean after my own kids. She comes back from her day off never having to do a sinkful of dirty dishes as we clean up after ourselves. Even my 4 year old knows to tidy up, clean up his own little simple mess e.g. spilled drink and has other useful habits like bringing his dishes to the sink. He clears up his own toys. We have a toy organiser for it so it's easy. He does this daily anyway.
While I'm currently on maternity leave, we have been practicing this routine too as I head back to work in mid December.
Weekends - I do laundry (two loads each day), cook and clean after my own kids. She comes back from her day off never having to do a sinkful of dirty dishes as we clean up after ourselves. Even my 4 year old knows to tidy up, clean up his own little simple mess e.g. spilled drink and has other useful habits like bringing his dishes to the sink. He clears up his own toys. We have a toy organiser for it so it's easy. He does this daily anyway.
Our helper starts at 9am and finishes at 7pm, with 1h - 1h30 break for lunch. I like to be the one preparing breakfast and dinner, and either my husband or I will do the evening dishes (I hate it when it stays in the sink all night), bath the children... She doesn't work on saturdays unless there is a baby sitting or any urgency, so I just do the laundry, meals etc... myself.
I think our helper's schedule is probably similar to the ones mentioned above.
We don't require her to wake up at 6 am but she is a morning person and this is about when she gets up. She only needs to be up when my son gets up which is usually around 7 am.
By 8 am we have all left the house so then she has until nearly 1 pm by herself. She does the daily cleaning in the morning which usually includes starting the laundry or just tidying. Feeding the animals. Making some beds. Watering plants. It's a pretty light work load. She is free to take as many breaks as she wants or have a rest during this time as she always completes all the tasks given her.
At around a 12:45 pm my son comes back from school and she feeds him lunch and cleans him up and then he lays down for a nap by at least 1:30-2 pm. He usually sleeps for a couple of hours. During this time she just continues with household chores and takes a rest or eats her lunch if she hasn't already eaten with my son.
At around 4 pm either my son gets up or she goes and wakes him up, feeds him an afternoon snack and plays with him for awhile.
I get home usually by 4:30 pm and then I take over while she prepares or finishes preparing dinner. I usually give my son a bath at this time. We eat dinner usually around 6:30 pm. After dinner I play with my son while she cleans up. Then she just spends the rest of the time (about another hour) just assisting me if I need it--like boiling water for tea (we drink tea in the evenings) or just helping me because of some back problems some of the physical things with my son I can't do while I'm pregnant.
Usually our helper is done with her job before 8 pm. But, the way it works out she literally gets about 5 hours a day of "down time"--because she's very on top of her work duties she ends up having a lot of time to call he family or text them or just rest. Sheesh! I wish I had 5 hours a day like that!
We don't require her to wake up at 6 am but she is a morning person and this is about when she gets up. She only needs to be up when my son gets up which is usually around 7 am.
By 8 am we have all left the house so then she has until nearly 1 pm by herself. She does the daily cleaning in the morning which usually includes starting the laundry or just tidying. Feeding the animals. Making some beds. Watering plants. It's a pretty light work load. She is free to take as many breaks as she wants or have a rest during this time as she always completes all the tasks given her.
At around a 12:45 pm my son comes back from school and she feeds him lunch and cleans him up and then he lays down for a nap by at least 1:30-2 pm. He usually sleeps for a couple of hours. During this time she just continues with household chores and takes a rest or eats her lunch if she hasn't already eaten with my son.
At around 4 pm either my son gets up or she goes and wakes him up, feeds him an afternoon snack and plays with him for awhile.
I get home usually by 4:30 pm and then I take over while she prepares or finishes preparing dinner. I usually give my son a bath at this time. We eat dinner usually around 6:30 pm. After dinner I play with my son while she cleans up. Then she just spends the rest of the time (about another hour) just assisting me if I need it--like boiling water for tea (we drink tea in the evenings) or just helping me because of some back problems some of the physical things with my son I can't do while I'm pregnant.
Usually our helper is done with her job before 8 pm. But, the way it works out she literally gets about 5 hours a day of "down time"--because she's very on top of her work duties she ends up having a lot of time to call he family or text them or just rest. Sheesh! I wish I had 5 hours a day like that!