Home / Work

It’s interesting, the distinction we draw between home and work. Back in the UK it seemed pretty clear to me that generally home and work issues do not mix. Yes, you may need to take work home, and yes, your home life might affect work from time to time (babies, moving house etc). However generally speaking these issues only interact on a practical level, which is then often provided for at work with a clear procedure to follow (i.e. maternity leave for pregnant mothers). There is no responsibility on the employer to engage emotionally in the personal issues and, I expect, there is no expectation or even desire from the employee for this either!

However, here in Tanzania we have found, with a clear case recently, that there is no such obvious boundary between work and home life. As an employer (of a guard or a house-help for example) you effectively become part of their support network. Their personal life is brought to work and you, as a responsible and able person, are expected to help to intervene. This can be very tiring. For us many of the issues are clearly nothing to do with work and therefore we do not feel responsible, or able, to do anything about them. Add into the mix the fact that as guests here we still do not fully understand the culture or the environment, and you end up being in a very hard place indeed. Yet still the expectation of the employee continues!

I’ve tried to think a little about why there is this expectation on the employer, which we don’t feel so often in the UK. Two things come to mind:

1. Since the underlying culture here is based so strongly on relationships, when you enter into an employee/employer relationship you are effectively agreeing to take some responsibility for or involvement in their life. This level of responsibility may depend on how much they work for you, how well you get on, or how much interest you show in their lives etc. however it is certainly there. By choosing them to work with you and for you, you are affirming their importance to you.
2. Maybe because there are few, clear, followed procedures in place (maternity pay, sick leave etc.), very little trust of official authorities (police etc.), and difficult access to facilities (courts etc), the employee turns to the first person they see and know who has authority – their boss. Whereas normally we would pursue personal issues through other channels, maybe they do not have (or don’t feel confident in being heard through) these channels available to them.

It is these kinds of intricacies of culture, and the way they rub up against your own upbringing and expectations, that truly make life here tiring. No one can say which is right, or which is better. However, the way a different set of expectations effect you can certainly always be defined as a challenge!