Nannies and Housekeepers During COVID

For so many, having a friendly face brightens our day, and the face of a housekeeper or nanny can bring such joy to a family- seeing your kids get excited when your nanny arrives to work, bringing a new positive dynamic to a home. Having a friendly, smiling face come to your door- someone who appreciates having a job- just starts anyone’s day on such a positive note.

Tutors/nannies help with homeschooling, making sure that your children stay on track when it comes to their education, manners and time management.

Why are housekeepers and nannies in high demand during a pandemic?

Due to the present situation with COVID, people are home schooling, something none of us had time to prepare for and few are trained to do. As we go into months 6 and 8 of working from home, nannies and housekeepers allow us to go to work and maintain a family-work life balance, allowing us to function under these new constraints. Someone who is trained to take messages- who can read a situation- knows when to close the door and take the children when we are on an important call. The standard role of a house keeper often over laps responsibilities as a nanny. They watch our kids while we have to go to the doctor, take a call, attend a business meeting, and sometimes, they are willing to travel with families for business or leisure. As people adjusted to social distancing and lock downs, many were sent home due to COVID.

Now that we have a better understanding of COVID and the way it transmits, most have returned to work. Both nannies and housekeepers are working longer hours, and in some circumstances, are living with their families until a vaccine is available. For so many, the idea of contracting the virus is terrifying. A simple errand to the store can be a nightmare and create added stress and anxiety to people who are in high-risk demographics.

After interviewing many housekeepers and nannies and listening to their perspectives, they, like their employers, are also fearful of contracting the virus. Understanding that they have to provide for their families, they take no risks when it comes to their chances of contracting COVID, but like so many, they have to work to support their families, taking extreme measures not to get infected.

For employer’s who are worried about their safety but need that extra help, housekeepers and nannies are the very support mechanism that allow busy people who are working from home to function. I strongly urge you to talk with your housekeeper/nanny and make sure that there is a mutual understanding of safety, risk mitigation, and limited interaction with shops and socializing.

What do you need to be aware of when allowing any housekeeper, nanny or other service personnel to enter your homes?

Here are some tips and tricks.

• Ask the question, “How are you feeling today?”
• Make sure that you have sanitizer readily available
• Are they wearing gloves? If so, gloves should be changed between tasks to prevent cross contamination
• For cleaning service companies -make sure that they are using specific cleaning cloths for your home – i.e. that you have your own designated cleaning sponges/cloths for the kitchen (green), bathroom (yellow), dusting (blue)

https://www.amazon.com/50-Pack-SimpleHouseware-Microfiber-Cleaning

1. Make sure they are wearing masks
2. Make sure that they wear shoe covers when entering the home
3. People of high risk should consider spraying the shoes of the service provider with an antibacterial/virus spray (Noted by the EPA, Lysol will kill a virus in 2 minutes from the time of spraying an area)
4. If there are high risk people in the house, ask them to step outside or go to a family member’s or neighbor’s home that has been deemed safe until the service provider has left. Upon returning to the home, make sure that the house is ventilated.
5. Make sure to clean your HVAC filter (you should have a HEPA filter or air purification system in place for people that might be at high risk)
6. Your housekeeper can change the HEPA filter
7. There is presently a trend to “elbow” greet guests and family. It’s not advisable to greet with an elbow. People may sneeze into their sleeves/elbows, resulting in the potential to contract COVID
8. IDC encourages employers to offer clean masks, gloves, and have good ventilation. Solving any transport challenges and offering paid sick leave will help to lower the risk for everyone in the home of contracting COVID

For so many people, working from home initially sounded like a dream, but as we have all found out, there are challenges due to children calling, people at the door, service providers, etc. Having that someone to answer the door allows you, the home owner, to continue to work without interruption. If you look on YouTube, there are so many Zoom calls and Skype posts of parents about to melt down while on an important call. Here are a couple that I think are particularly funny.

After consulting with Dr. Eye, an infectious disease specialist, we at IDC offer, as part of our housekeeper training class, COVID cleaning protocol. We are confident that following simple guidelines and taking safety measures will help you to mitigate the risk of exposure while allowing you to continue your day-to-day routines with in-home service providers.

Summary: The rule of thumb is to wear your mask, try to limit the amount of people you interact with, allow cross ventilation in your home (this does not mean cranking up your AC), open your windows and allow for cross ventilation, wash your hands and try not to touch your face. Don’t elbow greet as people sneeze into their elbow. Say “hello” with your mask on and keep the distance.

We have and will adjust to the changes in our new world, family and work environment.

Abraham Lincoln

It was employed in a speech by Abraham Lincoln before he became the 16th president: “It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: 'And this, too, shall pass away’

Peter O’Donovan is the founder of International Domestic Consulting, a household staffing agency that places candidates throughout the United States. Please feel free to reach out to us regarding opportunities, support in your role or finding highly trained, pre-qualified staff to support your home.

To learn more about International Domestic Consulting, visit our website at International Domestic Consulting. Please call 404-400-4300.