Nanny not happy, are we out of line?
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Anonymous
| We are having difficulty with our nanny recently since our daughter has started school. We asked her to pick up a few household chores during the time that our daughter is in school, she seemed okay with it at first but she is now becoming upset. We ask her to vacuum all carpet, mop and sweep the entire tile and hardwood flooring, clean bathrooms, and complete the entire laundry (before it was just our daughter's). She stated that she is not happy that her nanny position is "now morphing into a maid" and that if we continue to expect this of her, she will have to look elsewhere. We pay her generously, give her vacation time, and even pay her when we do not need or when she has a sick day. We believe that it is a fair trade to ask her to complete these tasks. Our daughter is in school 2 hours for 2 days a week, and we feel as if the duties that we are asking of her would fill the 4 hour void per week. Thoughts? |
Anonymous
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She's right. She's a nanny, not a housekeeper. You could ask her to do tasks RELATED to childcare.
Asking her to clean bathrooms and scrub carpets is completely out of line. And this is coming from someone who disagrees with alot of entitled nannies on this site. |
Anonymous
| Did you give her any input into what the new tasks would be (I would be willing to vacuum, sweep, mop, etc. but not clean bathrooms or do adult laundry)? Neither of you are being unreasonable, in my opinion, and perhaps its simply time to move on. She is a nanny. She wants to work with kids, not do laundry, sweep and mop floors etc., so I understand her unhappiness. You are paying someone for a certain number of hours and can reasonably expect that she will be working during the day. She's being honest with you that the job you've crafted is not one she wants to continue, so your choice is to work with her to find mutually agreeable uses of her time, or part ways and find a nanny/housekeeper, or a part time nanny. Good luck! |
Anonymous
| 15:16 here. I just reread your post and I see that your daughter only in school for 4 hours per week. You've added an awful lot of tasks to her days for only 4 extra hours. Sit down with her and discuss what she is willing to take on. Maybe she'd be happier doing grocery shopping or fixing dinner on those days. Maybe she'd rather cut back her hours than take on housekeeping duties. It seems like you made these changes without a lot of thought or input from her, so you can't fault her for not loving your solution. |
Anonymous
+1 Your list is wayyyyy over the top. Nannies are not housekeepers. Your list would have driven me to quit on the spot, OP, that's how disrespectful it is. Sit down and apologize, tell her you misunderstood the tasks nannies typically take on when children start school PT, and ask her which jobs she'd be comfortable taking on and thinks she will have enough time to complete. |
Anonymous
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Honestly, between drop off and pick-up, and your child's (possibly) dropping a nap due to going to school, it is very difficult to add that many new reaponsibilities to her schedule. I would count on only one extra hour of 'chores' per school day to allow time for transitions and travel.
It has been surprising to me how much time the turn-around can take for a 2 hour school program and it really doesn't leave a lot of extra time. Especially if it affects nap times that were there before... |
Anonymous
It's only 4 hours per week. While it's fair to add some tasks, your list is over the top. vacation time, guaranteed hours (paying her when you do not need her) and paid sick days are all very normal expectations to have from a nanny job. You write these as if you're fantastic and generous employers for paying it, when the truth is that the majority of employers off this. |
Anonymous
| I can understand why your nanny is not happy with this. I would not be happy with this. You are asking for too much. It is four hours a week. I could see asking her to sweep the floors, especially areas where the nanny and your daughter play, but family laundry and cleaning bathrooms? |
Anonymous
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I find it hard to believe you are an MB. I am, and I know how much time certain tasks take and I'm surprised you don't recognize that your list is way too much for four hours a week.
I would not blame your nanny for looking for a new job. |
Anonymous
| Do you want to look for another nanny for your daughter, OP? |
Anonymous
| Troll. |
Anonymous
+1. |
Anonymous
| That's way too many tasks for four hours. Drop the laundry, bathrooms and maybe mopping and you'll have a better package. |
Anonymous
| That is a lot as you have to add in getting back and forth to the school. Laundry and mopping/vacuum but not the bathroom. I can see wiping it down as she uses it but not the shower, etc. |
Anonymous
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Yes, you're asking too much. This is A LOT of work for not a lot of time, and the majority of it definitely falls in housekeeping territory. I can see a nanny perhaps considering doing this if she really wants to stay with a family, but I would also completely respect the response of "thanks, but I'd rather go find another full time nannying position".
- MB |