Striving for Dignity Amidst Precarity: A Consensual Qualitative Research on Dignity at Work in Paid Domestic Cleaning in Switzerland

Abstract

A significant portion of the working population faces economic injustices, precarious work, and exclusion from career development opportunities. Despite the growing scholarly concern for precarious workers, previous studies have pointed out the need for broader conceptualizations of what positive work experiences represent for them because individuals strive for work that provides a sense of worth and dignity in addition to minimal conditions. Building on the Dignity at Work Framework, the present study aimed to investigate dignity at work among paid domestic cleaning (PDC) workers in Switzerland, identify the strategies, resources, and hindrances to secure or enhance favorable conditions, and report participants’ propositions for improving their working conditions. We analyzed four focus groups with 15 PDC workers using Consensual Qualitative Research analysis. Results show a diversity of experiences on a continuum ranging from dignity to indignity at work. Workers employed various strategies, from resignation and demanding adaptation to more resistant responses to dignity threats. Moreover, PDC workers showed critical consciousness at various stages by proposing pragmatic changes, increased contextual support, or more liberatory aspirations and actions. Our findings contribute to bridging precarious work literature with precarity and dignity research and help adapt policies and counseling interventions for precarious workers.

Keywords

dignity at work precarious work paid domestic work vulnerable workers consensual qualitative research

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