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| Mary Pat doesn't float around with an umbrella, but she does have 20 years of experience as a Child Development expert. This column will answer questions about child development concerns & managing your employee/employer relationship. Q: I’ve been working for a family for about six-months and they’ve asked me to travel with them for three days to Tahoe. I’d like to go, but don’t know what to expect in terms of pay or schedule - help! A: Traveling with your employer can be a lot of fun, but it can also be a source of frustration if you and your employer have different expectations or unclear assumptions about the schedule or pay. The most important thing you can do to help this go smoothly is make sure that you and your employer talk about the trip in detail BEFORE you leave. There isn’t one right way for this to be structured, so just make sure you both feel good about what you agree to. We recommend that you discuss:  Either a specific work schedule for each day or a total number of work hours for the whole tripWhere you’ll be sleeping and if you’ll have childcare responsibilities during the night-time hoursWho will be responsible for your meals (meals or cost reimbursement are typically provided by the family)If you’ll be compensated for travel time (this should be paid)The overnight rate you’ll receive (this could be a flat rate and may be significantly less than your regular hourly rate)Keep in mind that you’ll want to give your employer as much flexibility as you can and be a fun contribution to the trip. Like always, communication is the key to success, so if you run into bumps during the trip itself take the initiative to talk it through in a solution oriented manner. Q: I work for a family where both parents are very involved with my role as their Nanny, which is great, but they frequently give me conflicting instructions. How do I deal with this without sounding like I’m tattling on one to the other? A: It might be helpful to realize that your employers may not be aware that this is happening, so you’ll need to begin by helping them understand your experience. E-mail or communication through a journal (kept at work) can be a great way to communicate about basic issues, but with something like this, it’s best to address it in a "live" conversation. In this case, ask to make an appointment to talk with your employers. Perhaps you can make a phone appointment to talk after the children are in bed. Begin by acknowledging your appreciation of their involvement. Explain that you have felt that there have been times when you haven’t known whose direction to follow since the feedback has been different from each of them. Make it clear that you wanted to bring this up because you are interested in following their wishes, but aren’t sure what to do when you hear different messages. Maybe it’s a matter of you speaking up immediately when contradictory guidance is given. It’s also helpful to know how they want you to bring it up, so try to agree on how to go about resolving it when/if it happens again. It can also be helpful for everyone to set a date several weeks out (maybe a month later) to check in about the issue and revise a strategy if the first plan wasn’t successful. Why use an agency? Common questions Apply for a position Helpful Resources |
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Q. I work for two very busy parents who do not have a lot of time to communicate with me. How can I go about talking with them about important issues?
Q. My employer frequently comes home nearly an hour after I am supposed to leave. I am flexible whenever I can be, but I really did not sign up for this schedule. Help! Q. I work for a family with a mom who is at home. Sometimes our discipline techniques are different and I’m concerned about the children getting inconsistent messages. How to bring this up with their mom? Q. I work with a toddler who is a sweet and easy-going child, but he has recently started hitting other kids. Why is he doing this and how should I respond? If you have a question you want answered, you can send an e-mail to: mppower@tandcr.com and it will be covered (anonymously) in an upcoming newsletter. |
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