Traditionally house cleaning services have been provided by a ‘maid’ who was generally a woman. Today things have changed and these services can be provided on a professional basis by both men, women or a dedicated team of individuals.
As far as in house maid services are concerned, in American today typically only affluent households seem to be able to afford a full time maid. These employees are tasked with cooking, cleaning and in some instances childcare. In some instances the duties of a maid also include grocery shopping and even taking care of the families pets – including such tasks as walking the dog.
Socio economic factors also play their part in the selection and availability of house cleaning staff. In many countries around the world migrant labor from economically depressed countries fulfill many of the ‘maid’ or house cleaning functions. For instance in Singapore, a wealthy Southeast Asian country almost all domestic workers / maids (or ‘helpers’ as they are known in that country) are from the Philippines.
There are several reasons that a household may choose to make use of a maid or house cleaning services. These can include where all the parties in the home are full time workers and they simply do not have the time to perform all the duties that are required in terms of household cleaning and care or a lack of the necessary skills to perform these tasks. In some instances the homeowners may be physically incapacitated or elderly – however in cases like these the maid is usually highly skilled in the care of these individuals.
Today, many households choose to employ an external house cleaning or maid service. It may be more expensive, but the household has the assurance that the services will be performed by a professional organization who will also have all the correct supplies to clean the home. The homeowner is also spared the time and effort in the preparation of paperwork for the maid, including the submission of documentation for social security and the implications as far as income tax are concerned.
In countries where individuals are relatively well off, including the United Sates and where dual income households are relatively common there has been an explosion in companies that provide professional house cleaning and maid services. The Internet has also has an effect on how accessible these services have become – more and more people are today aware that such services are available and are making use of the Internet to source professional suppliers of such services.
The changing employment environment has also made external providers of cleaning services more popular. traditionally stay at home wives would provide the services associated with maintaining the home.
However, now that employment equity has become a reality and more women have entered the workforce it has become necessary to find suppliers of these services outside of the family unit. Increasing affluence has also meant more children, which also places additional strain on women – so household cleaning services have become more and more popular.
