Eh that’s not always true. I’ve had a horrible helper who lied constantly, “borrowed” stuff from other helpers in the building that she never gave back (aka stole) and took out a huge loan then ran away. I’m not going to say all Filipinas are x because of one bad experience but it’s not the case that if you’re a good employer you’ll have a good helper.
It sounded genuine to me.Original Post Deleted
I read the post, and I still commented. I'll note that I believe neither you nor HK_Katherine has a helper so I don't know how seriously to take your view honestly. Many of these women come from unstable environments and if there's a financial/medical/personal emergency back home, their attitude and behavior can change quite quickly. It often has absolutely nothing to do with the employer/employee relationship.Original Post Deleted
The one I had a bad experience was actually good at her job, but her personal life was a mess and it led to the problems e.g. stealing and borrowing massive amounts of money then realizing no way she could pay it back.
Like I said - she was a good helper! I was so disappointed to find out all what she was doing in the background.
We're pretty typical expat employers - pay above minimum, no unreasonable hours or work demands, pay extra trips home, etc. Among my friend group with the same makeup there are still quite a lot of these stories.
I think Hong Kong is a competitive, materialistic city and the same pressures that can cause gweilos to break bad might apply to Filipinos too.
I think Japan works under a very different model when it comes to helpers :Original Post Deleted
Japan shuns Hong Kong model as it prepares to get its first foreign maids | South China Morning Post
They are employed by the agency, must find their own place to live, paid equivalent wages to their Japanese counterparts, 200 hours of training, and can only stay up to three years. I imagine it's mainly the fairly well-to-do that can afford to hire them.
Almost certainly at that wage level they would have to live out. So I'm not sure that it would make the problem disappear. It's not easy to live on $15K a month in Hong Kong especially if the intention is to send money back home as well.Original Post Deleted