Perks For Maids

Charity begins at home. A Mumbaikar has taken this proverb in its literal sense.

An Andheri resident has provided his house help with various perks, including health insurance coverage for her and her child.

“My maid is a hard working lady. She is the sole bread-winner in her family. She works to provide her child with education and a better lifestyle. Her husband doesn’t work. He has been fired from several jobs, because he is an alcoholic,” said the employer of the said maid.

The situation he mentioned is typically the story of many maids in our country. And in such circumstances, if someone from the maid’s family falls sick, all of their savings and assets are taken away to pay the medical bills.

Health insurance costs around INR5000 annually, today. Breaking it down to monthly installments, it is just around INR415. The amount is just enough for a dinner outside. And if we skip that dinner for one weekend every month, it would secure someone’s future.

“It is not too much. We always end up spending a lot more outside. Even for various social causes for that matter. But what is the point if my own maid is not getting any benefit out of my social activities?” said the protagonist of our story, who does not want his name to be revealed.

We all get various perks at our offices. And health insurance is definitely one of them for most of the corporate employees. Despite of this, we all see each other complaining all the time about work pressure, long hours, competition or lack of job satisfaction.

The maids probably work harder than us. They deal with complaining employers, abusive relationships and multiple responsibilities at the same time. They definitely do not get perks; but instead, have to deal with pay cuts for taking occasional leaves. And if we show them a little kindness, by gifting them with something, the gratefulness and the happiness they would demonstrate would be absolutely mind-blowing. They find happiness in little things.

Therefore, rather than being unappreciative about our jobs, let us be content with it. Because isn’t our ultimate quest, to find happiness? And while we learn to be happy, let us try to bring the same opportunity for growth and upliftment for our employees. Let us spread the word, and provide all the maids with health insurances for their families.

Thank you for reading the story until the very end. We appreciate the time you have given us. In addition, your thoughts and inputs will genuinely make a difference to us. Please do drop in a line and help us do better.

Regards,
The CSR Journal Team
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