I Work for a Wealthy Family That Treats Me Well. I Can't Say the Same for the Nanny.

A household employee describes a well-compensated, flexible assistant role for a wealthy couple and contrasts that with the au pair's situation. The au pair regularly works 10–15 hours more than contracted each week without extra pay, often loses her day off due to family travel, and has worked up to 70 hours on vacations without receiving promised compensatory time. The au pair is young, shy, and reluctant to raise concerns with the family or the agency. The narrator invoices and tracks time meticulously and notes power dynamics and interpersonal barriers that impede the au pair from speaking up.

I have a decent job that I'm happy with. I work as a catch-all kind of assistant to a very wealthy couple. I do everything from filing state paperwork for their nonprofit to cooking for them to light interior design during their home reno. There are a lot of small frustrations that come from working closely with people who are used to having everything taken care of for them, but overall I find my employers to be respectful and kind. I'm well compensated and they are understanding and flexible about my schedule.

But hen it comes to the au pair, "Bridget," I've been pretty shocked to find out that they are not being the best employers to her. She shared with me that she pretty regularly works 10-15 hours more than she is contracted for each week without extra pay, and that the family often schedules travel on her day off so that she doesn't really end up getting a day off due to being in the car or at the airport with them. On vacations, Bridget has worked up to 70 hours without having the promised time off to also enjoy herself. I don't get to see a lot of this firsthand because when they travel I stay behind to do house projects and I otherwise just don't keep track of Bridget's schedule. Dear Concerned Colleague, Bridget is young and is shy about bringing these issues to our employers or her agency coordinator. I think the mom would be annoyed and try to gaslight her a little bit, but if she went straight to the dad he would just cut her a check for whatever she asks for. I get paid for every single hour I work because I track my time to the minute and invoice him directly.

Read at Slate Magazine