more than a penny for their thoughts

What I am about to write is very closely related to what Ram had said in his post about absenteeism. I am referring to it in the context of hired help. My mom had hired help when we were growing up and now I have three; I have no shame in admitting that I struggle to survive through the day without them. I have managed to keep a good relationship with all of them, and no one's about to spit in my drink when I am not looking (and at the end of the day, this is as good as it gets).

But the hardest part about managing them is their total disregard for call-ins when absent; It's a different rant altogether that most of the time there isn't even a valid reason for being absent in the first place. My maid has taken days off for the death of her father-in-law, thrice. I tried being the employer of the year when I started, but slowly figured (after two years, no less) that being the feudal lord yields better results -- but thanks to my passive aggressive trait (true to my genealogy, I'll proudly add) it is almost impossible for me to pull this off.

For those who are shaking their heads at this point: "I am not saying that I won't let my employees take a day off, I am just pleading that they give me advance notice". Even if one of them doesn't show up unannounced my whole day falls apart, and this drives me up the wall. In a few exceptional cases that I got advanced notices, I managed to find a way to work it out. They definitely got their day off or two and they didn't even have to pseudo-kill their kith or kin over it. Everybody won (sort of). I am waiting for the day that this becomes a norm.

Up until recently I couldn't put my finger on why I treat my job differently than my maids do, given that the necessity I have in retaining my job is almost negligible (economically speaking)! I guess what I aspire to have is a career, while they are busy making a living (duh!). Just about enough money to keep them off the streets and they are good to go. That and they invest more time in people, even if it is at the cost of ruining their source of income.

I have spent quite sometime thinking about this, and I hope that I haven't simplified it.