New programme to deal with stress of housework

The Star Online, Sunday March 28, 2010

DON'T be surprised if the new maid rubs the area under her collarbone every morning or sits occasionally with two fingers on her forehead.

She may just be relieving stress using techniques taught by a new settling-in programme for maids.

From May, employers can send their maids for lessons covering topics like personal hygiene, money management and Singapore's culture and norms, said the non-profit Foreign Domestic Worker Association for Skills Training (Fast).

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said it had engaged Fast to run the programme on weekends at selected community centres.

The target is new maids and those who have been here for less than a year, said Fast secretary William Chew. It plans to promote the programme through employment agents and newsletters that MOM sends to employers of maids.

But will employers bite?

Chew said it has designed the programme to be conducted over four half-days, so it should not take up a lot of the maid's time. Emplo­yers will ultimately benefit from having their maids know the expectations of Singaporeans, he said.

"A happier, better adjusted maid is a better worker," he added.

A source of stress for maids is the need to multitask, from cooking and cleaning to caring for a baby, said the trainer for the stress management session, Khiryati Kairi.

"We've heard of maids always taking Panadol, or always having a headache or a tummy ache. These are signs of stress," said Kairi, the chief executive officer of I-Skills Learning.

Her Brain Gym techniques will involve body movements to keep maids positive, clear minded and energetic.

She will also cover work ethics, emphasising values such as honesty and responsibility. The personal hygiene session will teach maids to care for their hair, hands and body, said trainer AllenJoey Chng, a former nurse.

He will drive home the difficulty of keeping long hair given the housework they must do. They also need to trim their nails to avoid contaminating food, said Chng, the director of training at Grace Management & Consultancy who has trained maids for over six years.

Maids will learn to set their own goals as well and start saving, said Veronica Gamez, executive director of Aidha, a non-profit group that runs finance and entrepreneurship courses for maids.

It could be to buy a cow, invest in land back home or set up a new business like a bakery or a hairdressing salon, she said.

It also means teaching maids to talk to their family about controlling expenses to reach their goal, and to refrain from remitting all their earnings home.

Employers can sign up their maids from next month online at OnePA.gov.sg. Fast will absorb the course fees during the four-month pilot run. – GOH CHIN LIAN