Living apart from employer is the only way this maid can truly unwind from the stresses of work

Josie, who is in her 70s and has worked in Hong Kong for over three decades, says her life is a far cry from what it was when she lived in her first employer’s cramped flat and had to work 24/7

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There are over 370,000 foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 12:19pm, 15 Feb 2018Updated: 12:33pm, 15 Feb 2018

Each workday for Josie, a foreign domestic helper in Hong Kong, begins like this: She wakes up in her room in Tai Po, watches programmes on Filipino channels GMA and TFC, and at about noon, takes the bus to her employer’s home in Ho Man Tin, where she begins her chores at 1pm.

While she used to work longer hours for her employer, she now spends about five hours a day on her duties, wrapping up by dinner time unless her employer requests otherwise.

As she lives apart from her employer, she is paid by the hour. Her employer also pays her rent and transport costs.

Josie, who did not want to give her full name to protect her bosses, is in her 70s and has spent over three decades working in Hong Kong.

Her life today is a far cry from what it was when she first landed in the city in 1984, and it is all due to her being able to live apart from her employer.

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“You can do whatever you want to do, eat whatever you want to eat,” she told the Post, saying that it was only when a helper was away from the watchful eyes of her employer that she could escape the stresses of work, unwind and relax.