DIY mode and Covid fear: Why many are not recalling helpers

Gurgaon: With the spike in cases in the national capital region coinciding with the country rushing into unlock mode, the enduring fear of contracting the virus has grown manifold in the minds of the residents, resulting in many of them refusing to hire back their domestic helpers.
While most of them are still working from home, and have come to terms with doing their household chores by themselves, this lifestyle shift was also brought about by diminishing income during lockdown.
Farah, a city-based entrepreneur, is one such resident. She runs a small legal firm with a team of 20 people, and her income has taken a hit during due to lockdown which forced her to take the decision of letting her domestic helper go.
“My income has substantially reduced, and cost-cutting had to be done. Hence, I had to let her go. I was traumatised but it had to be done. I helped her as much as I could during the lockdown. I had another helper and I asked her to move in with me,” said Farah.
With layoffs happening in every sector and businesses seeing their revenues go down, many households have made similar decisions. Those working as cooks have been impacted more than those employed for cleaning and other chores.
For families with elderly members and children, however, the fear of getting infected was the deciding factor. “We had a cook and a helper, and we are not using their services right now because we are worried about the infection. We have no control over where they go and live, and hence, there is a huge risk in letting them inside our homes,” said a resident who works with the government girl’s college in Sector 14.
Initially, the piling dishes in the sink or the heap of unwashed clothes might have looked intimidating and the division of labour among family members became a reason for stress, but soon, it became a matter of habit, said some people.
Also, as seen across the country, residents chose to invest in appliances such as dishwashers to cut down their dependence on domestic helpers.
“Since we are all working from home, we decided to let our cook go and instead make our meals on our own. It is not only safer in the current times, but it also enables us to make healthier choices. We also save a little something,” said Kritika Sharma, who works for a consulting firm in Gurgaon.