Future Directiveness within the South African Domestic Workers’ Work-Life Cycle: Considering Exit Strategies

Abstract

The pervasiveness of domestic employment in the South African context gives rise to the question as to why women not only enter into, but remain in, such an undervalued work situation, and whether they are ultimately able to exit this sector. Contextualising the sectoral engagement of domestic workers as a transitional work-life cycle characterised by impoverishment, limited alternatives, acceptance of the work context, and future directedness, with individual transition through these phases determined by a unique set of circumstances, female domestic workers' lived experience of their work-life cycle was explored within the framework of an interpretivist research design. Non-probability respondent-driven self-sampling was employed to select 20 participants, most of whom were representative of families with a long history of sectoral involvement, particularly along the female line. Dense, non-numerical data was generated through in-depth interviewing. Inductive data explication was conducted with the aid of MAXQDA. The findings confirmed the existence of an institutionalised culture of engagement within the sector perpetuated from one generation to the next. Hardship and an urgent need for survival leave many with little option but to enter and remain within the sector. Despite negative societal perceptions of the sector, those within it take pride in their work and view their engagement as an enabling tool to better their future prospects and those of their families. Attempts to exit the sector are unsuccessful due, in part, to a limited formal education and skills repertoire. Domestic workers are thus entrapped within a never-ending cycle of sectoral engagement, with the possibility of exiting the sector remaining merely a dream for many. Sectoral ContextThe desperate plight of domestic workers is a global phenomenon. The call for transformative actions that could culminate in improved employment conditions for this sector of the world's labour force is well documented (

Promoting a positive work experience for South African domestic workers

“…Furthermore, employers of domestic workers are not a homogeneous group, which leads to differing expectations regarding the skills required from domestic workers (Brizi & Bertolaso, 2017). This individualised employment relationship (Marais & Van Wyk, 2015) largely excludes domestic workers from decision-making processes, and they consequently have little or no bargaining power concerning the determination of working conditions.…”

“…Africa follows Asia (1) and Latin America and Caribbean (2) as the third largest employer of domestic workers globally, and the majority are employed in South Africa (Marais & Van Wyk, 2015). Research undertaken by Stats SA indicated that for the first quarter of 2019, domestic work accounted for 6.22% of the total workforce, of which 96% were women (Stats SA, 2019).…”

“…Progressive legislative reforms in South Africa in recent years have provided domestic workers and other lower income employees with protection within their employment contexts (Marais & Van Wyk, 2015). Promulgated legislation includes the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, No.…”

“…They further assert that the value of domestic work lies in the enabling, empowering and emancipating impact that it contributes to the flourishing of society. Marais and Van Wyk (2015) add to this in stating that domestic workers deserve recognition as significant contributors to, and enablers within, the world economy.…”

“…Pre-democracy research on the domestic work sector in South Africa has highlighted the factors that contributed towards feelings of oppression experienced and related to long hours worked, low wages and racial inequality (Cock, 1980;Gaitskell et al, 1984). More recent studies have explored the impact of minimum wage legislation in the domestic work sector (Blaauw & Bothma, 2010;Dinkelman & Ranchhod, 2012), experiences within the domestic employment relationship (Bosch & McLeod, 2015;Galvaan et al, 2015) and factors influencing the choice for continued employment in the domestic work sector (Marais & Van Wyk, 2015). These later studies contributed to an in-depth understanding of the domestic work experience, and the factors that determine the nature of this experience.…”