What happens when your boss asks you to complete a task that isn’t in your job description? Say you are explicitly responsible for the care of the children and no housework is involved, but your boss asks you to help out with some housework that they will not have the time for. It’s natural to want to be helpful and innocently agree to do your boss the favor. After all, it’s only this one time, right? Unfortunately, for many nannies, this isn’t always the case and it starts to become a “job creep.” Job creep refers to the increase of duties a nanny is responsible for that is NOT outlined in the working agreement and without added compensation. It may start as a “favor” that your boss’ ask of you one day, and then slowly turns into a repeat responsibility or a small “To Do” list left for you in the morning. Extra duties can become overwhelming when added to the care of the children. Many nannies feel that it takes away from their time with the children and that has a negative impact on everyone.
Read Amanda Dunyak’s 5 Tips for Job Creep on CareAcademy.co.
This was terrible when it happened to me. In my (unpaid) ‘down time’ when the 5 kids were at school I was regularly asked to phone and organise pool cleaners, gardeners, do shopping and cooking for the whole family…. I also had to do deliveries of the mum’s stock for her work, drive her to and from work, sometimes greet her clients and once I even had to go and sign the paperwork for and pick up the families brand new car! Running errands such as getting ice cream for dad… Chocolate for mum… The kids at times became second priority! Needless to say I left that job after a few months as they needed a house manager not just a nanny.