Domestic Staff Trade, a Value Chain for Wealth Creations
The mention of domestic staff, house help, nannies, cooks, and other registers associated with those that provide critical duties at home elicits myriads of sentiments. Firstly, among the population of individuals of the middle class and those of the wealthy strata known to be the consumers of such services, and secondly, to the public, including providers of the services as well as observers of both units of the divide.
There have been reports of allegedly ugly experiences emanating either from the consumers of these critical services or from those providing the services. The implications of such feedback from these parties have also put other groups on notice, causing them to decide in favor of or against the purchase of similar services.
On the other hand, the huge unreported and undocumented blessings due to the services of domestic staffers have remained overshadowed by the negative news associated with a few in their group.
It is my goal to shed more light on the positive experiences and otherwise as a service provider at a point in my life, a subscriber, and an observer. It has become necessary to x-ray both sides, evaluate their contributions, impacts, and benefits, draw conclusions regarding their relevancy, and make a progressive statement about the future of such a market segment.
The domestic staffing market has continued to grow in a remarkable way in recent times. Buoyed by the hygienic requirements due to the COVID pandemic, the industry has continued to expand with more staffing requirements, especially at homes.
Evidence is clearly noted by many sources affirming the relevance of remittances not only to the families as first line beneficiaries but also to the country’s economy. Globally, such monies sent from abroad to the home countries of migrant workers who had left their native land in search of better opportunities have had a tremendous impact.
The destinations of these migrant workers are influenced by their skills, the availability of opportunities, and the purchasing power of the citizens of those countries that seek workers to supplement their labor needs. The United States, Saudi Arabia, and many other developed, wealthy, and economically vibrant countries are popular destinations for migrant workers. It is noteworthy that while most developed nations export skilled labor, other emerging economies provide low-skilled labor to these bigger nations in return. Many low-income countries, such as Nigeria, the Philippines, Ecuador, Mexico, Nepal, El Salvador, Haiti, and others, export mostly domestic or special needs labor skills. The vast majority are those who provide domestic staffing, cleaning services, special care givers, and so on.
Remittances from these groups of people to their home countries have had a significant positive impact on the economies of their respective countries. The receiving nations have been shown to achieve significant poverty reductions, improved GDP through these contributions from oversea remittances.
In Nigeria, the situation is not different. Our financial regulations have been enhanced to allow the free flow of foreign remittances from our people living and providing different kinds of services abroad. Nigeria’s GDP has been impacted, and her foreign reserve is also said to be sustained significantly through this channel of income. Our people have continued to enjoy a better life, many startups are hinged on the support they could get from relatives staying abroad.
Generally, the contributions of these remittances to our nation’s economic growth have been empirically justified, and the microeconomic evidence has continued to remain very visible in such households across the nation.
Locally, the demand for domestic staffers has continued to rise, leading to many specialized agencies getting involved in the screening and recruitment process. These organizations make it easy for consumers of these services to receive their staffing needs almost on demand.
The value of these domestic staffers has also risen tremendously in recent times. Despite the challenges and some negative encounters, it is necessary to give the industry recognition as a contributor to our national economic growth. Our domestic staffers contribute to our household and national economic growth through direct and indirect inputs.
Directly, the employment of these staffers has helped in certain ways with their personal or family economic well-being. Agencies responsible for their recruitments are also a direct beneficiary through payments received for their services. Some are known to live in houses provided by their employers, feed on the same source as their employer, and enjoy almost zero energy costs throughout the time of their employment. I have seen a few receive certain favors from their principals by way of talent discoveries, scholarships, skill acquisition, learning a trade, and other supports that changed their livelihoods. Direct benefits in an organized and preferred environment have been seen as the main reasons why individuals apply to provide domestic or household routine jobs.
Indirectly, domestic staffers have helped both their employers, their households, and the nation at large accomplish so much of their economic goals. With the services of domestic staff, like a nanny, nursing mothers can keep their jobs, hence continue to provide for their families, and contribute their economic quota to our nation at large. This group’s activities have helped many people at home, inspiring positive energies that have led to their advancement in businesses and places of paid employment. Domestic staff support has helped these categories make huge earnings without any disruption on the home front. Without them, many parents among the middle class may quit their jobs to nurse a new baby or take care of the elderly or the young. Most times, the duty provided by a cook helps a household live a healthy, stress-free life while at the same time retaining sustained economic vibrancy. Some of the following reasons are clearly emphatic for the need to hire domestic staff, and their employers have continued to produce repeated success in their jobs, careers, and businesses due to the support of the domestic staff.
The domestic staffers’ contributions to our households are priceless. Our nation and the entire households using their services have largely benefited from this industry. I use this article to advocate a mind shift among consumers and those intending to employ such services. The mindset around this should be that you and your domestic staffer are doing yourselves some kinds of favors in certain unique ways. Nobody should disdain the critical service inputs provided by this group, nor should anyone disregard their relevance in our social and economic spaces.
If properly harnessed, the industry should be regarded as providing essential services. Taking care of our homes, babies, the elderly, cleanings, and other types of chores, when properly organized, will result in huge economic benefits and an influx of new subscribers.
There should be a place of relevance reserved for our domestic staffers due to their invaluable contributions to families.
Recognizing their invaluable assistance to our families is a primary goal of this article. Their engagement packages should therefore be enhanced, and the negative perception held by many in our society will evaporate with time.
Domestic staffers preserve lives and create wealth.