I am 46 years old, my name is Li Qiang, and I have been in the domestic service industry for seven or eight years. In this industry, I have seen all kinds of employers, some amiable, some demanding and critical, but this is the first time I have encountered a female employer like my mine.
Her name is Zhang Wei, and she is a strong woman with a successful career who lives in a high-end apartment in the center of the city. When I first arrived, she offered me a salary of 8,000 yuan per month, which is quite a high salary in the nanny industry. At first, I thought I was lucky enough to find such a high-paying job, but I soon realized that it wasn't as easy as I thought.
Zhang Wei has a lot of requirements, and many of them are excessive. For example, she asked me to get up at 6 a.m. every morning to prepare breakfast for her, and the type and combination of breakfast had to be the same seven days a week. I tried my best to accommodate her requests and made her breakfast every day, but she always found fault with it, either that it was too salty or that it wasn't soft enough.
In addition to breakfast, I am also responsible for the cleaning of the house. Zhang Wei's requirements for cleanliness are almost to the point of cleanliness, and she requires me to wipe the floor with a special detergent every day, and not leave any water stains. Once, because of my negligence, I left a watermark on the floor, and she actually asked me to wipe it three times.
These are nothing, and the most unbearable thing for me is that Zhang Wei often asks me to do things that are beyond the scope of my nanny duties. Once, she asked me to accompany her to a dinner party, not only to be responsible for her dressing, but also to act as her personal assistant on the spot, helping her entertain clients. That night, I was so busy that I didn't even eat a bite of food, and when I got home, I was so tired that I couldn't straighten my back.
Still, I endured it. After all, a salary of 8,000 yuan is really not so easy to find for people my age. But as time went on, Ms. Zhang's demands became more and more excessive. She began to interfere in my private life, even asking me to be on call on weekends in case she suddenly needed something.
Once, I needed to take a day off because I was in a hurry at home. I greeted her in advance, who knew that she would not agree, and said: "You are my nanny, your job is to serve me at any time, where are there so many private matters?" I was really angry at the time, but I still suppressed my emotions and tried to explain to her in a calm tone.
Just when I thought I was about to take it anymore, Zhang Wei's attitude suddenly changed. One night, she came to talk to me, and her tone was unusually gentle. She said that she has been under a lot of pressure at work lately and is a little out of control, and I hope I can understand. She also offered to give me a raise and promised to respect my personal time in the future.
I didn't expect her to say this, and most of the resentment in my heart disappeared at once. I thought maybe she really just had a stressful job and needed an outlet. Since then, Zhang Wei has indeed changed a lot, she is no longer so harsh, and our relationship has slowly become harmonious.
Through this experience, I deeply realized that interpersonal relationships in the workplace are really complex. Sometimes, you have to put up with some unfair treatment, but as long as you can persevere, there will always be a turnaround. At the same time, I also understand that no matter what work you do, you must have your own bottom line, and you can't let others trample on it at will.
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