1. Workplace Health and Safety Hazards Faced by Informally Employed Domestic Workers in the United States
- Author
-
Nik Theodore, Beth Gutelius, and Linda Burnham
- Subjects
Adult ,Male ,Economic growth ,Nursing (miscellaneous) ,Adolescent ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Immigration ,Psychological intervention ,Occupational safety and health ,03 medical and health sciences ,Young Adult ,0302 clinical medicine ,Occupational Exposure ,Surveys and Questionnaires ,Humans ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Occupational Health ,media_common ,Aged ,030504 nursing ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,Human factors and ergonomics ,Middle Aged ,United States ,Work (electrical) ,Caregivers ,Informal Sector ,Workforce ,Care work ,Female ,Business ,0305 other medical science ,Diversity (business) - Abstract
Informally employed domestic workers encounter a range of workplace hazards, though these have been poorly documented and are typically left unacknowledged. Safety concerns include exposure to toxic cleaning products, a high prevalence of ergonomic injuries, and inadequate access to medical care. Presenting the results of an in-person survey of 2,086 informally employed nannies, housecleaners, and caregivers in 14 U.S. cities, this article documents the range of common health and safety hazards faced by domestic workers and suggests some interventions that could improve their working conditions. The survey was conducted in nine languages and data were collected from workers from 71 countries, including a substantial proportion with irregular immigration status. We observed that substandard workplace health and safety conditions are shaped by three aspects of domestic work: long-standing exclusions from federal employment protections, the common disregard of the home as a workplace, and the complexity of care work and the bonds of intimacy that often form through caregiving. Together these factors have served to perpetuate substandard working conditions. Regulatory reforms, as well as worker and employer education, are necessary to improve health outcomes for domestic workers.
- Published
- 2018