Maid says, 'I don't understand how to deal with Singapore employers; work slow also wrong, work fast also wrong'

Independent Singapore

27-07-2025

Photo: Depositphotos/motortion
SINGAPORE: 'Work slow also wrong, work fast also wrong,' that's the poetic lament of a foreign domestic helper in Singapore who took to Facebook to air her frustrations in the Direct Hire Transfer Singapore Maid / Domestic Helper group.
'I don't understand how to deal with Singapore employers,' she began, exasperated. 'Looks like they're the one perfect human in the world.'
Her sin this time? Sweeping the floor too fast. Yes, too fast!
'My boss says that I am working too fast, thinking it's not clean,' she wrote. But just the day before, she had been reprimanded for working 'so long' to clean the master bedroom. The conclusion? 'Fast wrong, slow also wrong.'
And the post didn't just sweep the floor, it swept through the emotions of many fellow maids, sparking a virtual vent-fest of shared agony.
It's the kind of paradox that would make absurdist writer Kafka proud but make moral and social order philosopher Confucius confused. 'Ask your employer to hire a robot…'
As soon as her post went live, a flood of empathetic comments rolled in. One netizen, perhaps armed with equal parts sass and sarcasm, declared:
'Ask your employer to hire a robot so that she can nag on her own.'
Another added, with the seasoned tone of someone who has swept more than just floors, 'Depends on the employer, sister. I work so fast that later, there's nothing to do, and the employer says I'm not working. If I work slowly, I let the employer see me working. Different employer, different rules.😞😒'
Some helpers shared their personal solutions to this Goldilocks conundrum: work fast and clean. Sounds simple enough, but it's easier said than done when some employers act like they're running a military camp, minus the free weekends.
One witty comment summed it up with: 'Perfectionist employers. Never and never get it wrong with them, but if they do wrong, they will almost never accept it. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣' 'If working fast, then the work must be clean…'
But not all were ready to throw their feather dusters in defeat. One helper proudly claimed she never faced complaints in her 16-year career:
'Because I do my work with heart,' she said. 'If working fast, then the work must be clean… if it's not clean, the employer might nag.'
Another shared her success formula: repeat the same tasks every day, long enough until even with her 'eyes closed,' she could finish her work 'in a flash.'
Her secret is 'I don't like being micromanaged. But if I do things on my own, I do well. So I really appreciate my employer who doesn't care how I do things fast or slow, as long as it's clean.'
And the reward is a clean house, a happy child, and, surprisingly, no deductions from her salary. 'I work so fast, but my employer still deducts S$50 from my salary…'
Unfortunately, not everyone is that lucky. One comment stood out like a mop in a washing machine:
'After telling me that I work so fast, she deducted S$50 from my salary… Now my salary is less than S$50. Weird employer, right?'
The helper admits she could call the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), but in a twist of kindness, she thinks her employer may be struggling financially. So she lets karma sweep up the mess instead.
'At the end of the day, I believe in karma,' she wrote. And perhaps a little faith is all you need when common sense has gone missing in action. 'Demanding that we must be clean, but they (employers) themselves are dirty'
Many pointed out the double standards from their employer, with one saying:
'Demanding that we must be clean, but they themselves are dirty. Just cook one pack of noodles, use all the tools until the kitchen is messy.'
Another said employers often 'take it for granted,' treating helpers like house elves with magic instead of treating them as normal human beings.
'They don't want to care about their servants. Even though their servants have tried their best for them.'
One comment stood out in its poetic punch: 'Perfectionist… but they're not perfect 😂😂😂 I'm talking about my employer 🤣🤣🤣.' Adjust, adapt, or abandon?
The recurring advice from long-timers is to adapt and adjust. Or if that fails, just leave.
'Every house has its own uniqueness. As a maid, we can only adapt and simply adjust,' said one. Another gave this sobering reality check:
'Here in SG, there are many people with that kind of attitude. They think they are perfect… They don't think that without a helper, they will have a hard time working properly. They think your salary is more important than your life.'
Despite all that, some helpers still choose to stay — enduring complaints, deductions, and perfectionist micromanagement — for the sake of a stable salary, or maybe even out of quiet compassion. A final sweep
In the end, the original poster's complaint isn't just about brooms and bosses. It's about a deeper struggle — the thankless balancing act of meeting expectations that are often contradictory and impossible.
Fast, and you're lazy. Slow, and you're inefficient. Do everything, and still get scolded.
Do nothing, and… well, actually, don't try that one.
But as some helpers wisely observed, the secret to survival might just be this:
'Close one ear. If you can't stand them, just find another that can make us feel comfortable and happy,' because… whether you're sweeping the floor or sweeping through emotional landmines, a little peace of mind goes a long way.
In other news, another foreign domestic helper took to Facebook to sound off about her long hours, short sleep, and missing money, sparking a flurry of 'same here's, sympathy, and a few blunt replies that basically amounted to: 'Well, just leave lah.'
Her post, made in the Direct Hire Transfer Singapore Maid / Domestic Helper Facebook group, struck a nerve with many others. 'Employer wants me to wake up [early] and work on time. But [she] never let me sleep on time,' she wrote in a raw, straight-from-the-heart message.
You can read her full plight over here: Maid says, 'My employer wants me to wake up early and work on time, but she never lets me sleep on time' document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { const trigger = document.getElementById("ads-trigger"); if ('IntersectionObserver' in window && trigger) { const observer = new IntersectionObserver((entries, observer) => { entries.forEach(entry => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { lazyLoader(); // You should define lazyLoader() elsewhere or inline here observer.unobserve(entry.target); // Run once } }); }, { rootMargin: '800px', threshold: 0.1 }); observer.observe(trigger); } else { // Fallback setTimeout(lazyLoader, 3000); } });