The Lowly Atsay

She is often referred to as dumb, a word too unkind indeed to describe a person whose service and loyalty can sometimes be better than a real relative's. The name atsay itself is already condescending. Yet the way many people treat their house help is self-contradictory. While they consider her too brainless to get anything right, they often trust her enough to run their household in their absence, as they pursue their careers or businesses.

The atsay usually mopes around the house with a dejected expression on her face. It is easy to tell that she's neither comfortable nor proud about her job. She approaches her tasks with reticence and nervousness. It normally takes her three repetitions before getting anything right. That, of course, is enough to drive her masters crazy.

She knows how to do her job right, but she just has such a fear of making mistakes that she bungles even the simplest chores. She is actually of a regular intelligence, but she is so insecure that she psyches herself out of tasks which she already knows perfectly well how to do.

Her name is not really Inday, although that's how she is often addressed. She is Marilyn or Jennifer or Genevieve. Back at home, she is a respected daughter or sister, always to be consulted on important family decisions. But here at work, in some affluent household, she is often treated as a less significant creature than the family dog. When Blackie refuses his food in the morning, he is sure to be in the vet's clinic by noon; but Inday still has to do the laundry even if she has fever.

Inday asks her masters the same questions over and over. She would ask, after doing it for the past three years, how to operate the washing machine. She would tell her Ma'am that someone called but would not remember the caller. When her Sir asks for coffee, she puts in salt instead of sugar. It's no wonder she is always screamed at and dealt with harshly.

But if house helps were more efficient and better composed, they probably would not be in such a lowly job. If she were better educated, Inday would probably be working in a lawyer's office or in a call center. Or, even if she works in a home, she would not be a mere house help but a governess. Then she would be receiving much better pay.

The right way to handle Inday would be to treat her with respect and understanding. It is not easy to be in her shoes, if she has shoes at all. For sure she wants better abilities but didn't have the chance at education which her masters had. She is where she is by circumstances beyond her power to conquer. That's bad enough for her; there's no need to make it worse by expecting her to be more.

It won't help to shout at her or strangle her at every blunder she makes. It is better to sit down with her and discuss her slips as soon as things have cooled down. She needs help to get beyond her terror of making mistakes. She needs to know that her masters are on her side and want to support her. It is, therefore, important that her masters find out the best way to do that, for her good and their own. House helps may be intellectually inferior but they're not stupid. Treating them unkindly, on the other hand, is the worse kind of stupidity. They will hear better when talked to calmly. They may not get it right away the first time, but being patient with them is well worth it. It's often the mentally frail that wouldn't mind - or couldn't tell - when they're getting the downside of the deal. Their loyalty, once earned, is often unshakeable.