The Nanny with Flexibility

[Anonymous]

"Flexibility"
=
Doormat

"I want to pay you until 6, but I usually don't get home until 6:30 or 7."
Why don't you simply be honest and say, "I usually get home by 7 (and will pay accordingly), but occasionally I may arrive home earlier".

BEWARE of the word "flexible". If you want a flexible nanny, you need to pay for it. No respectable nanny is going to be on-call after her agreed upon hours, unless you can afford very generous compensation.

If you neglect to pay the high price for the benefit of flexibility, be prepared to also be "flexible", as in the nanny may start showing up late to compensate for your tardiness.

Either it works both ways, or you pay for it. You pick.

[Anonymous]

Yes!! You right,some people like to get advance from you,I had this before.....

[Anonymous]

I'm a nanny. Being a nanny isn't a serious profession. Shit happens. It's a job based around flexibility. If you want a job where you know when you're expected to come in and leave to the exact minute - go apply for an office job. I'm so sick of nannies acting like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a nanny. Being a nanny isn't a serious profession. Shit happens. It's a job based around flexibility. If you want a job where you know when you're expected to come in and leave to the exact minute - go apply for an office job. I'm so sick of nannies acting like this.

+1. Most professional jobs require some level of flexibility in hours. Nannies should, of course, be paid for every hour they actually work, but they should not expect to get paid until 7 every night because the parent might miss the 6:30 target here and there. If nannies want to be respected as professionals, they need to stop acting like childish prima donnas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a nanny. Being a nanny isn't a serious profession. Shit happens. It's a job based around flexibility. If you want a job where you know when you're expected to come in and leave to the exact minute - go apply for an office job. I'm so sick of nannies acting like this.

+1. Most professional jobs require some level of flexibility in hours. Nannies should, of course, be paid for every hour they actually work, but they should not expect to get paid until 7 every night because the parent might miss the 6:30 target here and there. If nannies want to be respected as professionals, they need to stop acting like childish prima donnas.

But in OP's example the parents are MOSTLY late, rather than MOSTLY on-time. That is the difference.

I have never turned down a schedule change in my current position - come in early, stay late, shift hours, I have (luckily) been able to accommodate it all. However, I do so because my boss is home on time (or early) 99% of the time. There is a mutual trust and respect that grows over time and encourages both parties to offer maximum flexibility for one another, but if you begin on a dishonest foot (i.e. hiring a nanny to stay until 6 and almost always getting home at 6:30 or 7) you aren't going to reap the rewards of a happy household employee.

If you're being respectful, open, and honest with your nanny, you should be able to depend on her flexibility. If you aren't...well, you made your own bed in that case, and you'll have to lie in it.

[Anonymous]

Are you the same person who posted yesterday or the day before about the same thing? Drop it already!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a nanny. Being a nanny isn't a serious profession. Shit happens. It's a job based around flexibility. If you want a job where you know when you're expected to come in and leave to the exact minute - go apply for an office job. I'm so sick of nannies acting like this.

+1. Most professional jobs require some level of flexibility in hours. Nannies should, of course, be paid for every hour they actually work, but they should not expect to get paid until 7 every night because the parent might miss the 6:30 target here and there. If nannies want to be respected as professionals, they need to stop acting like childish prima donnas.

I think, maybe OP and others, are upset with it's not sometimes, it's often.
Every job needs flexibility, not just nanny jobs. The occasional coming in early and staying late is just a part of the working world.

But when it gets abused it becomes an issue. Anyone in any field would be upset with that.

And yes I've worked as a nanny, in an office, as a director of an office, and now I am a MB.

[Anonymous]

OP is not posting about a real problem she has. She is annoyed at someone else's alleged problem and likes to start threads stating her opinion as if it's some sort of authority everyone must follow.

Fact is, people negotiate and pay for the situation they need. Nannies can take the offer or leave it. If they feel taken advantage of, they can leave. Easy answers for easy problems.

[Anonymous]

I'm a flexible nanny. I stay late, don't have a regular end time, and work weekends (IF I want to, not required). I pitch in, do light HK if I have time, buy groceries and organize.

I'm paid $29.50/hr.

Whenever I read all these complaints about low paying jobs, I just think to myself that maybe if they were more flexible they could earn a decent wage. I've been making over $20/hr for at least the past 8 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a flexible nanny. I stay late, don't have a regular end time, and work weekends (IF I want to, not required). I pitch in, do light HK if I have time, buy groceries and organize.

I'm paid $29.50/hr.

Whenever I read all these complaints about low paying jobs, I just think to myself that maybe if they were more flexible they could earn a decent wage. I've been making over $20/hr for at least the past 8 years.

Exactly. That's the entire point. Flexibility and a superior wage go hand in hand.

[Anonymous]

No, PP. Apparently you have reading comprehension problems.

[Anonymous]

Flexibility in scheduling can be a job requirement. Its works fine for some people and not for others who have set commitments after work. It has nothing to do with being a doormat as long as you are being paid for hours worked and you knew that flexibility was a requirement when you were hired.

Nannies have no problem being flexible with their schedule when it serves them in extra paid time off because an employer takes an extra long weekend vacation or comes home early on a Friday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Flexibility in scheduling can be a job requirement. Its works fine for some people and not for others who have set commitments after work. It has nothing to do with being a doormat as long as you are being paid for hours worked and you knew that flexibility was a requirement when you were hired.

Nannies have no problem being flexible with their schedule when it serves them in extra paid time off because an employer takes an extra long weekend vacation or comes home early on a Friday.

I agree with this. I have never committed to a fixed end time for the nanny, because my job just is not conducive to that. We have agreed on an outer limit to the flexibility--a time by which she needs to be out the door unless we've planned for a later time in advance. We also pay her for all time actually worked with time and a half after 40 hours, but we only guarantee 40 hours per week. The nanny knew when she took the job that there would be about an hour of "swing" time each night. She must be available unless we've discussed a particular conflict in advance, but within that swing zone, she only gets paid for the time she works. This is how overtime works in most jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a nanny. Being a nanny isn't a serious profession. Shit happens. It's a job based around flexibility. If you want a job where you know when you're expected to come in and leave to the exact minute - go apply for an office job. I'm so sick of nannies acting like this.

+1. Most professional jobs require some level of flexibility in hours. Nannies should, of course, be paid for every hour they actually work, but they should not expect to get paid until 7 every night because the parent might miss the 6:30 target here and there. If nannies want to be respected as professionals, they need to stop acting like childish prima donnas.

Nannies are not professional employees and, yes, they are paid for ALL time they work. D

[Anonymous]

The flexible nanny above earns $29.50/hr. FYI. That's how it works. People who are expected to be on call beyond their normal hours are paid much better than the others.

Why would you give up your personal life if you weren't being compensated accordingly?