Tips for Household Chores

When you’re reflecting on the stresses of everyday life, it’s unlikely that you’ll name washing dishes or vacuuming as major causes of unhappiness. But fights over chores can slowly drive people in committed relationships to the brink of war, and unequal distribution of household chores plays a role in up to 30% of divorces. While chores might not seem particularly important, they have to be done every day, and if one person is doing more than his or her fair share, the person’s quality of life can steadily decline.

List Your Chores

Sometimes couples have completely different understandings of what it means to do housework. You might vacuum and mop daily, but your partner might think cleaning just means removing dirty socks from the floor. Sit down together and make a list of chores you each agree need to be done daily, weekly, and monthly, then start divvying them up. This way, neither of you can plead that you didn’t know about the chore, and failing to do something makes it clear that your partner is trying to pawn the work off on you.

Keep Track of Work

Couples fighting over chores often get into disagreements about which chores each party is doing, and research shows that men often overestimate their contributions. If you know that chores are unequal but are unsure of where the problem lies, try keeping a record of each of your household duties over the course of a week, then examining the results together to determine problem areas.

Make Chores Proportional

If one of you works and the other stays home with children, it’s likely that the stay-at-home parent will do more household chores and child-rearing tasks. This does not, however, mean that the stay-at-home parent needs to do all the chores. Instead, try looking at how much spare time each of you has and divvying up chores accordingly. Your chore division should never cause one spouse to have significantly more leisure time than the other.

Take Turns

Rather than trying to make everything perfectly equal each day, try taking turns. Perhaps each of you will take care of the daily house cleaning on different days, or one of you can cook while the other cleans. If there’s a task you both loathe, alternate who does it, but make sure that the turns are fair. If you hate doing laundry but find yourself folding towels three times as frequently as your partner, something’s wrong.

Work with Natural Consequences

To be able to equitably divide chores, you have to have a cooperative partner. Not everyone sees the value of evenly splitting household duties. If you can’t get your partner to work with you, don’t scream or make threats. Instead, try letting him or her deal with the natural consequences of his/her actions. Stick to doing the chores you need to do to keep your life running relatively smoothly, but stop doing chores for your spouse. When he or she is faced with nothing but dirty clothes and a week of take-out food, the person is more likely to recognize your contributions.

No time to do household chores? Look for a domestic helper in Singapore. There are a range of domestic helpers to choose from a maid agency in Singapore.

Things to Consider in Hiring a Maid Service

Tips on Hiring a Maid Service 

Your day is packed. It is tough enough to find time to do the important stuff in your life like spending time with your family and loved ones, let alone all the chores. Therefore hiring a maid agency in Singapore can be a smart choice.

Some issues you need to consider:
Bonding: Should a theft occur, you need to know that you are protected. Is the maid service bonded for its house cleaning clientele? Many maid service companies are not bonded at all and some of them are only bonded to protect themselves - not you.

Insurance: If a maid should unfortunately slip and fall while cleaning your shower, your homeowner's policy might not cover the incident. The maid service must have liability and employee accident coverage and this must include your home, the maids and the company. Make sure they are properly insured.

References:  How many years has the company been in business? Remember to ask for references and a work history. Some key questions to ask when calling for references are:
• How long have you used the maid service?
• Have you had any complaints? How did the maid service handle this?
• Are they enthusiastically recommending the maid service?

You definitely need to make sure the maid service is reliable and this is a good way of doing it.
Employee hiring and screening: Does the maid service check employee references? Are employees criminal backgrounds checked? Is their residence status confirmed?

Do they use all their own employees or do they use subcontractors? A maid service that uses subcontractors usually does not provide staff training and very often they will not provide liability insurance.

Cleaning products: Many independent housekeepers as well as maid service companies expect you to supply all cleaning products. If they do include house cleaning products, ask what type of products will be used and whether they contain harsh chemicals like ammonia or bleach. You need to ensure that the products are safe for kids and pets.

Equipment: Inferior equipment does not get your home clean. If the maid service is supplying the equipment the effectiveness of the filtration system and the efficiency of the system is important.

For additional information about hiring domestic helpers in Singapore or Myanmar maids in Singapore, please feel free to contact us.

Tips For Domestic Helper Coming To Singapore For The First Time

When you get domestic helpers from other countries, they would not know the conditions and daily lifestyles here as it varies in different countries. While they start working here, they need to know some basic guidelines. Singapore consists of mostly high rise buildings such as flats, apartments and condominiums. If you are living in these places, falling from such high height is a danger. Especially for foreign domestic worker that work and hang the laundry, there is a high chance to fall out of window if they are not careful. Here are some tips and guidelines for them to take note of and follow.

When doing their laundry: Keep the domestic helper’s feet firmly on the floor. Their body should be behind the window at all times. Hang the heavier clothes on the pole closer to the bracket, and lighter ones at the far end of the pole. Also, when retrieving the clothes, bring the pole in the apartment first before removing the clothes. The domestic helper are not to tip-toe or use any raised platform to hang their clothes. Lastly, do not overload the pole with too much clothing.

When cleaning the window: Lock the window when cleaning the window interior. As for cleaning the window exteriors above the ground level, ensure that there is an adult present to supervise and use cleaning tools that have extended handles. The Myanmar Maids or maids from other nationalities should not stand on any raised platform, or climb or lean outside to clean the window exterior.

Lastly they should ensure that the floor area near all windows is dry before hanging the laundry or cleaning the windows. Also do not lean too far out of the windows when picking items that have fallen out of the window. Never should they stand on ledges or planters if there is one.

Since we are responsible for their safety, we need to make sure that they are safe and follow through these guidelines. They might not know the consequences or how dangerous it may be, letting them know would keep them safe and alert.

Over at United Channel, one of the most experienced Myanmar Maid agency in Singapore, we understand that Domestic Helper coming to Singapore is not easy for them to adapt. Some domestic helpers from countries such as Myanmar or Philippines are also not accustomed to our food, culture and weather. We always seek to provide more training to the domestic helpers who are coming to Singapore so that they can adapt well. We seek to provide all domestic helpers Singapore with the necessary training they should have.

Top 5 Best Maid Agencies In Singapore

Many working professionals and parents have benefited from the emergence of various maid agencies in the country. With the help of a Singapore maid agency, anyone who’s in need of assistance around the house will be able to hire a domestic helper without any hassle. These reputable maid agencies will help their clients find the most suitable maid for the family.

As a way to help those who are looking for an extra help in their respective home, here is a list of maid agencies in Singapore that can provide potential domestic helpers. Through their service, it’s now easy to find a highly competent maid.

Sakura Employment

With a combined experience of more than 30 years in the service industry, Sakura Employment continues to provide a high level of customer service to all their clients. They aspire to deliver service that is professional, dedicated and personalised. The agency always makes certain that they clearly understand the requirements and preference of their clients to find the ideal maid. They aim to meet and even exceed the expectations of their customers when it comes to finding the best one.

Sakura Employment’s services include job placement for transfer maid in Singapore, direct hire for transfer maid, home leave processing, application of work permit, passport and work permit renewal, embassy endorsement, and many others.

JL Recruitment

JL Recruitment is one of the established maid companies in Singapore. They are fully committed to achieving higher professionalism, productivity and standard of service. With over 10 years of rich experience in the industry, they continue providing households with well-trained maids.  Their ultimate goal is to provide high-quality and reliable domestic household services to match the needs of their clients.

The agency’s top priority is to practice good customer relationship to build trust as well as long term partnership with their clients. Reliability and friendliness are their primary values to ensure total customer satisfaction in any aspect of their service.

United Channel Employment Agency

Established in 2007, United Channel has become a highly dependable maid agency in Singapore in the past years, which made them one of the major players in the industry. Their main goal is to help solve the issues of working-class people in Singapore with their household chores. The agency acts as a mediator between foreign domestic workers and employers to ensure a good match for both parties.

United Channel specialises in sourcing Myanmar foreign domestic workers who are known to be more self-driven and conservative. The agency has been expanding over the past few years, from a single branch in Katong to another branch in Bukit Timah. Their services include airport shuttle service, medical check-up arrangement, work permit cancellation, consultation & counselling, direct hire application, holiday drop off, housing services, and many others.

Nation Employment

Nation Employment was established in 1994 and has been helping their clients find a suitable domestic helper. With a track record of more than 50,000 satisfied customers, the agency received an ISO certification by PSB. They have their own training centre located directly within their headquarter where they are able to effectively and comprehensively train their applicants to make them better candidates. With the help of their highly qualified trainers, they are able to conduct personalised training programmes in their training centre.

Generally, the agency’s primary objective is to provide reliable and quality domestic household services to meet the needs of each client.

Crislo Employment Agency

Another trusted maid agency in Singapore is Crislo Employment Agency. They deploy maids from developing countries like Myanmar, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka. The agency match-make each domestic helper’s best ability to match the client’s requirement. Crislo provides strict and extensive training programmes to prepare the maids for any chores and to meet the demands of their clients. The agency strives to build a long-term relationship with all their customers.

Things To Know In Hiring A Domestic Helper In Singapore

Are you planning to hire a domestic helper? Having a full-time maid to help with various household chores like cooking, cleaning, doing the laundry, ironing and childcare can be a blessing to those families with children. While it seems easy to find someone who can do all the chores at home, there are important things you should know in hiring a foreign domestic helper in Singapore.

The Cost

Some employers only require part-time maids who can work once to twice a week and can be hired independently or through an agency. Mostly, part-time maids are hired by employers who are single or couples who don’t have children and are available for between $10 and $20 per hour.

Other employers prefer to hire full-time, live-in maids for a certain period of time, usually based on the contract. Full-time maids can be hired for as low as $450 per month, although the salary varies depending on the agency or the level of experience. Aside from the monthly salary, employers are also required to pay a monthly levy to the Singaporean government and a security bond of $5,000. Moreover, employers are also responsible for providing accommodation, food, insurance and medical care for their maids, in addition to the hiring costs, transfer costs and annual bonus.

Responsibility Of First-Time Employer

First-time employers should complete an Employer’s Orientation Programme (EOP) by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), which involves taking an online course for $30 or attending in person for $20. The EOP is a 3-hour programme that will help the employers fully understand their role and responsibilities as employers of a foreign domestic helper. First-time employers must complete the programme at least 2 working days prior to submitting the Work Permit application. This programme is also required to employers who have changed workers frequently. First-time employers can check out the website of MOM for more information regarding EOP.

Maid Agencies Help Find Maids

Searching for a domestic helper in Singapore has been made less complicated with the help a maid agency. There are so many maid agencies available right now that can provide qualified candidates and can assist in every process involved in hiring a maid, from the selection to permit application. However, employers should only work with accredited maid agencies that can be found on the website of MOM otherwise, employing a maid through an unlicensed agency may get you in big trouble.

Be sure to select a reputable agency to help you. MOM website provides basic information regarding the agency as well as the important information regarding the service standard of the employment agencies. In some agencies, you can have an initial interview of your desired foreign domestic helper even though she is not yet in Singapore, through a webcam or telephone.

Countries To Employ Maids

Employers can only hire foreign domestic helpers from the MOM approved sources of countries, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, and the Philippines. Filipino and Myanmar maids are two of the popular choices among local employers due to certain reasons. Many employers prefer Filipinos since they can be more fluent in English, which allows them to communicate better. Meanwhile, the greatest benefit of choosing Myanmar maids is the fact that they cost lesser compared to the Filipino.

Rest Days

Employers must provide regular rest days to their maids to ensure that the domestic helper gets enough physical and mental rest. Both employer and maid should mutually agree on which day of the week she can take a rest day. This can be put into a written agreement to avoid disputes.