What is it about?
This paper is based on a study of 11 women of migrant origin working as domestic (house) cleaners in a small city in England. The women performed cleaning tasks for clients, but they also performed 'emotional labour', which included things like keeping older or lonely clients company. The paper aims to reveal this type of emotional work, which is often unacknowledged but which is very valuable to society.
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Why is it important?
Domestic cleaners work behind closed doors, often without formal employment contracts, so they are largely hidden from public view. This means that their stories have not been heard as much as those working in other occupations. Women cleaners who are also migrants are even less well represented and understood. The study is important because it tries to make space for these women's stories, and shows cleaning to be a valuable job which is more complicated than people assume.
Perspectives
Cleaning is a valuable and important type of work, which involves caring for people as well as places.
Nicola Chanamuto Chanamuto
University of Lincoln
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Understanding the Hidden Emotional Labour of Migrant Women Doing Domestic Cleaning Work in England, Emotions History Culture Society, December 2022, Brill,
DOI: 10.1163/2208522x-02010170.
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