My personal assistant suddenly resigned in March. It was not a big surprise to me, because our working relationship had lasted almost five years and I had been mentally prepared that it is only a matter of time, when she wants to continue with her life and seek another job.
Seeking new assistant was a good opportunity for me to update my needs. This website has been developed with the help of my resent assistant and during that process my situation and need for assistance has changed. I have pondered, if should make zero-hour contracts instead of hiring one full day assistant. In that way I could hire a group of assistants so that each one of them is doing his/her particular job: One takes care of household, another one helps me with the website maintenance and takes care of mechanical equipment and someone else helps with outdoor activities and exercise, and so forth. Having several assistants at the same time should save my time as things would be taken care of simultaneously, but it seems to me now that it scatters my thoughts too much.
People think that zero-hour contracts give poor working condition as it does not give worker daily regular work schedule and thus does nor give regular income. My opinion is that it is big advantage for worker not to be attached to one employer and he or she is able to schedule his work and life in a way he wants. Zero hour contract employer cannot expect that worker is always available and part time worker is able to have several part time employers and he can choose his work schedule. I myself prefer that my assistants would keep professional confidentiality and would come to work only when they like to do it.
To work properly this model of employment would require basic income as workers need certain regular cash flow to be able to plan their life in the long run. It is weird that it is commonly accepted that companies need regular cash flow to upkeep and develop their services but citizen tied to part time work contracts are forced to plan their life on monthly basis, possibly without any income.
Time will tell how co operation with my assistants develops. First we made a thorough spring cleaning in my apartment. Lots of new things are coming up and we continue our work with hopeful minds.