Five most important people in a working woman's life

Not all (S)HEROES Wear Capes - Anonymous

I could have always relied on my smartphone to wake me up every morning. But do you know what’s been the best alarm for me? Tried, trusted and popular? Well of course, there may be glitches once every few months. Nothing or no one is perfect. The answer - my domestic helper of course.

I don’t have a live-in maid. I have someone who comes over once every morning to collect the garbage and help with the basic chores. She leaves almost as soon as she arrives, within minutes it seems. But she doubles up as my alarm clock, almost daily.

Even if I end up waking a tad earlier on a particular day, I usually wait for her to ring the bell, to know that ‘it’s time!’…

Like my almost-part-time domestic helper, there are so many others who are part of our daily lives and who we should be thankful for. These SHEROES actually contribute towards making our daily lives much more liveable, better even.

In-house full time help

Imagine a day of doing all those tasks from cleaning, cooking, tidying and washing dishes by yourself. This is in addition to your normal office work and managing the child. It is important to be grateful for what they do and how they do it. Isn’t it?

Sairee Chahal, founder and CEO of SHEROES.in says - I over-invest in my support system, and that’s what I suggest women who ask me tips for work-home balance. I have got a driver, a full-time maid and a baby-sitter who form my strong team. Without them, I can’t give 100% to work.

Nanny

Most young parents today choose to hire a nanny (fondly remembered and called as Aaya). We entrust our child to the nanny. We trust the nanny to feed, clothe, and clean the child and much more. This allows us to focus on other things like office work, social tasks.

Daily part-time Helpers

Every morning, in most Indian homes, the milkman, the newspaperman and the garbage collector ring the bell one by one. You don’t have to walk out of your house daily to get basics like milk. The garbage is taken from your house, without you having to go anywhere to dump it.

Cook

The cook makes sure you and the family eat all your meals well. You just need to tell her what you need and rest is taken care of. Without the cook most of us would be worrying about the next healthy meal.

Driver

Most inhabitants of Indian cities complain of reckless driving, lack of parking and no respect for traffic rules. Well, thankfully, a lot of us have drivers.Half your daily worries are practically solved when you don’t need to jostle for parking space, when you just need to sit back and enjoy the ride.

Let’s imagine a day when the maid doesn’t show up. The nanny can’t come. The cook doesn’t cook. The milkman, garbage man and newspaper man disappear and the driver chooses to stay home. Imagine what your day would be like. 

Image Courtesy - Youth Ki Awaaz