I haven't been going into work for the past week. Mrs Msomi has had to self-isolate as she is showing symptoms of Covid-19. She stays in the cottage that we work in so she can protect the kids and the other helpers who are in the house. This Covid-19 thing is scary. Nobody knows where it's coming from and nobody understands where it's going. Mthunzi has been worried about his kids. Mbali has just taken a turn for the worst. She doesn’t sleep at home anymore. She...
LydiaWorking from home is tiring, stressful and without boundaries. My day starts at 7am and ends when the work is done. I did not have an issue with this when I was going into the office. But now, I feel as if there is no difference between my home and my workplace. I just sleep in my bedroom. Every other place in my apartment is an office space. My domestic worker has temporarily moved in with me while we are on...
Sindi George got me a brilliant tender with the government for this Covid-19situation. Zelda has been absolutely amazing. She is honestly a gem in my life. She comes in much earlier than normal now to get my kids up, make sure that they have bathed, eaten and ready for home-schooling. She sets up their laptops in the study and packs their lunch and snacks for the day. Zelda manages their days so well. She even has 2 hours everyday for physical activity in the...
Zelda Since the lockdown started, I have been knocking off earlier to abide by the curfew rules. Mrs Msomi has just been on a war path. I'm in mourning, I cannot engage in conflict or find myself in the middle of heated arguments. It frustrates Mrs Msomi that sometimes, I'll just look at her and not respond to her yelling. That woman can yell! And she is damn rude. Mthunzi fetches me every morning then takes me home every afternoon- as per...
Portia So the president has announced that the country is officially under lockdown. My child has been sick all night. I asked Lydia to come and help me, but she hung up on me. Now, it is 7am. My husband and I are taking our 5month old daughter to the public hospital and we are walking because there are no taxis available. We are walking as fast as our legs will carry us. Miles will not stop phoning me. I told him that my...
Lydia Now that I no longer stress about getting to work super early to over-impress ungrateful bosses, I swim every morning. I do a few laps just to wake up and activate the body. In the afternoons, I do a few kilometres on my treadmill. I need to keep this body fit. As I reach the edge of my pool to complete a lap that I have just done, I bring out my head from underneath the water and lift my goggles to...
Sindi While I appreciate that Zelda has lost her son - believe me, I appreciate this more than you know –I really need her here. I am hosting an event for Georgeand nothing can go wrong. Sonto and Puseletso know nothing outside of cleaning, washing and ironing. My assistant and my team tried their best, but events are a specialized industry. You need to have a knack for it and no one in my team has showed me that they have Zelda's...
Zelda I have an office now and I'm pretty sure that my job title has been made up. Basically, I now only clean Mr and Mrs Msomi's studies, still look after their kids then I coordinate events for Mrs Msomi: personal events as well as work-related events. I do nails and hair for Mrs Msomi, Mbali and their close friends. I dress up nicely for work now. The cottage has been turned into office space. It's an office space for two. On...
Portia "Portia, you are needed in a consultation. It's in the boardroom. Why are you still sitting here and entertaining Facebook? You should be working", Palesa says to me. This woman thinks I live on Facebook, yaz. I'm not on Facebook as often as she says I am. I just happen to be on Facebook every time she creeps up on me. It is as if she waits for me to log on then she comes out and says that I am on...
Lydia I am in the office early today. I have a lot of work cut out for me on this project we have put in place. I am proud of the fact that my strategy has been approved and brought together to turn this company around. I am not leading the implementation of the strategy but hey, it's my idea and I'm playing a significant role in making it happen. I work quite closely with Portia now. She works in the warehouse...
