Laid-Off Lawyer Asks Advice Columnist About Nanny Worries
A laid-off lawyer worried about the employment prospects of her nanny has written to a columnist seeking advice about whether to fire the woman.
The lawyer told Washington Post style columnist Carolyn Hax that she was laid off in October from “a stressful, truly horrible job at a big law firm.” She is looking for work without success, has a 16-month-old daughter and a husband who “makes a decent living.”
The lawyer explains that she is thinking of becoming a stay-at-home mom, but she is worried about the nanny, who has three kids and medical bills. “I don’t want her family to crash and burn, and she’s living pretty close to the edge,” the lawyer says. “We can barely afford to keep paying her as it is, but it is still doable, even if just barely.”
Hax offers this advice: “I don’t usually advocate backing into decisions like this, but when you’re really undecided about something, often it can help to let fate make your decision for you. In this case, you can encourage your babysitter to start looking for another job, with the understanding that she is to look until she finds a position that pays her well enough to justify leaving her job with you. Then you see what happens.”
