Work Arrangements

Many people believe that the daily tasks of foreign domestic workers primarily involve picking up and dropping off children, cooking, and doing housework. However, since each family's reasons for hiring a worker may differ, the tasks assigned to workers can vary significantly. Organizing the work content and schedule for the worker is one of the tasks that requires the employer's time and management. According to our interview cases, the work arrangements for workers are often managed by the women in the household.

Work Arrangements in Dual-Income Families

Respondent Ted and his wife both work and have hired a foreign domestic worker to assist with childcare and household chores, which is a typical scenario.

Ted emphasized that the worker is not responsible for grocery shopping, as his wife usually shops in other areas where prices are more affordable. The primary duties of the worker include cooking and doing laundry, as well as preparing dinner for family members when they return home. Ted mentioned that their domestic worker would have dinner ready before they got home and would wash the dishes afterward and help the children bathe. However, Ted mentioned that "sometimes both kids want us to help them shower, which is another matter".

When discussing the worker's working hours, Ted stated that she usually goes to bed around 9 p.m. and wakes up at 5:59 a.m. to prepare breakfast for the family members. He and his wife typically leave for work at 7:30 a.m. Ted's experience reflects the common work arrangements of foreign domestic workers in dual-income families.

Work Arrangements for Caring for Sick Elderly

Another respondent, Terry, discussed how he and his wife collaborate with their foreign domestic workers to care for his sick mother-in-law. Like Ted's family, they both have full-time jobs, but their work arrangements for the workers are quite different. Since Terry's mother-in-law requires hospitalization due to dementia, he hired two workers to live with his father-in-law. The workers need to learn how to care for the elderly, including assisting with basic needs such as helping the mother-in-law use the toilet. Terry described their daily care arrangements:

The couple, along with the father-in-law and the workers, take turns going to the hospital. They usually complete some basic housework in the morning before leaving, such as vacuuming and mopping, without insisting that the workers do all the cleaning. The primary responsibility of the workers is to attend to the daily needs of the mother-in-law, including oral hygiene, assisting with changing clothes, and checking her condition.

The entire caregiving process remains flexible and collaborative, with family members adjusting according to their schedules to ensure that the mother-in-law receives adequate care while also allowing all household members and workers sufficient rest. Sometimes, when Terry and his wife are too busy with work to go to the hospital, they inform the workers in advance so that they can handle the caregiving tasks themselves; when they have time to visit the hospital, they encourage the workers to go home and rest.

The needs of respondents Ted and Terry's families are different, leading to variations in the tasks assigned to their foreign domestic workers. However, both cases highlight the importance of collaborative division of labor. Employers do not rely solely on the workers to complete caregiving tasks. Instead, they make flexible arrangements to share responsibilities.

Some Respondents Prefer to Establish a Regular Work Routine

Employers organize work schedules in various ways. Some respondents, such as Amy and Jerry, prefer consistent and structured tasks.

Another employer, Jerry, a 60-year-old retiree, lives with his wife, their 27-year-old daughter, and two grandsons. Due to his wife's busy work schedule, Jerry decided to hire a foreign domestic worker. The worker's daily tasks are very structured:

Jerry describes his worker as very understanding and honest. Even though he does not require her to take on tasks outside her daily schedule, she proactively helps when he is busy: " The kids are heavy. Sometimes we have aches and pains, she helps carry one or assists with heavy items. Occasionally, we take the kids to museums, the Museum of History, or parks, and she comes along to help."

Both respondents noted that having a schedule ensures that the worker establishes a work routine while also maintaining reasonable working hours. They believe this approach benefits both parties involved in the employment relationship.

Division of Labor with Family Members: Workers Fully Care for Pets

However, some employers have very different work arrangements compared to the respondents mentioned earlier. Levina does not assign a regular set of tasks to her foreign domestic worker but relies on the worker and family members to coordinate among themselves. Levina and her husband both have full-time jobs, and household chores are mainly managed by Levina's mother-in-law:

Another consistent task for Levina's worker is taking care of Levina's pet dog. However, Levina prefers that the worker takes the initiative: "For example, if the dog needs to go to the bathroom and the worker is busy or in her room, we won't specifically call her out to clean it." In Levina's household, some family members have high standards for cleanliness, so household chores are mainly shared among family members, with the worker assisting as needed. The worker also takes on tasks that Levina and her husband initially handled, such as caring for their pet. This approach requires the worker to clearly understand the daily routines and habits of each family member in order to adapt to the relevant work patterns.

Negative Experiences in Arranging Work for Foreign Domestic Workers

The respondents mentioned above have generally had smooth collaborations with their foreign domestic workers. However, some employers have had more negative experiences in arranging work for their workers. For instance, Zoe, who works full-time alongside her husband, pointed out that her worker often fails to complete her assigned tasks, forcing Zoe to handle household chores herself.

Zoe listed her expectations for the worker's work, including changing bed linens weekly and maintaining cleanliness in the home. She stressed the importance of keeping the floors clean since there are children in the house. However, the worker expressed that she could not meet the floor-cleaning requirements, refusing to mop again in the evening after having done so in the morning, which greatly disappointed Zoe. She is considering not employing this worker any longer and resigning to become a full-time housewife: "Perhaps I should quit my job and take care of the house myself because asking a worker to work is also quite exhausting".

Zoe's negative experience reflects a gap between the actual work performed by the worker and the employer's expectations, as well as inconsistencies in scheduling that can lead to friction between both parties. When hiring a foreign domestic worker, employers sometimes need to invest extra time in managing work tasks. When discrepancies in expectations arise, communication and coordination are necessary.

Conclusion

The work arrangements for foreign domestic workers vary based on the different needs of families, resulting in both positive and negative experiences. According to the respondents, some employers prefer to provide a work schedule in advance to ensure that tasks are completed as planned. Others do not provide a schedule and instead opt for a more flexible division of labor with the worker, which can also meet the employers' requirements. These cases reflect that when hiring a foreign domestic worker, it is important to consider that arranging work for the worker requires time and effort, a responsibility that often falls on women and may become an additional source of stress for female employers.