So, I still do the nanny thing. I’ve a couple of regular clients who I babysit for, a few new ones who keep me in cash on the weekends but one large scale weekly job where I spend a good few hours a week with two rather precious preschool individuals.
We’ve got a great relationship, the family are stars and I love them to bits. But the difficult thing with this kind of work is that business relationships very soon dissolve into familial friendships. This isn’t a bad thing but it does make the financials occasionally awkward. Like on Friday when I was offered a few extra hours early next week. A good thing, to be sure. But awkward in that I usually won’t leave my house for less than four hours and I’m being asked to come in for three.
Should I be bothered?
Possibly not, maybe I’m just being a bit mercenary… but when I raise the issue and say “you realise I’ll be charging you for four hours” I was a bit bummed for my friend and my boss to be surprised, and apparently a little hurt that I’d suggest such a thing…
I’ve checked my emails, I definitely stated way back in the beginning last year that my minimum is four but the kicker for me was to hear the statement “because it’s us”. To say such a thing implies there’s an expectation that I’d not stick to that rule because of everything they already do for me, and because we’re ‘friends’. And the truth is, rather than mar the relationship I caved and am going for three and will only charge them for those three.
Maybe I am being selfish, but the truth is I was just a bit irked that familiarity had bred contempt so soon…
For diplomacy’s sake, I’d (begrudgingly) let it pass this time, but make it very clear that for all future instances, you have a minimum of 4 hours, and that you expect payment for such. I’d also allude to other obligations (such as uni) because essentially babysitting takes away from other things you could be doing.
And it’s not like the government makes it easy to study and keep alive. I’d be emphasising that.
welcome to church ….
Completely unrelated to church, actually!
So I guess it’s welcome to life!
familiarity does breed contempt. darn it. :(
sorry, meant that it feels like to me that sense of obligation you get when you work at or even sometimes just attend and are involved in lots of things in a church … the slightly raised eyebrows of surprise when you say no, the inferred ‘but of course you’ll do it, it’s church’ … all that sort of thing … ‘but it’s us’ is well and truly along the lines of ‘but it’s for the church’ ….