domestic worker
Hired household helper
A domestic worker is someone employed to perform household tasks—cleaning, cooking, childcare, or elder care—in a private residence.
The term is more formal than housekeeper or maid and emphasizes the labor relationship: Domestic workers often lack the legal protections afforded other employees.
The work is typically low-paid and historically undervalued.
Household cleaning worker
- housekeeperDomestic cleaning professional
- nannyHired child caretaker
- butlerChief domestic servant
- cookHeat food for eating
chauffeur · gardener · babysitter · au pair · valet · steward · laundress · groundskeeper
Extensive and far-reaching
- moppingCleaning floors with water
- dustingRemoving surface grime
- scrubbingCleaning by rubbing hard
- vacuumingRemoving dirt by suction
polishing · laundry · ironing · tidying · sanitizing · disinfecting · washing · wiping
Payment for work
- contractEnforceable written agreement
- live-inResiding at work
- full-timeComplete weekly hours
- part-timeLimited work schedule
agency · placement · references · payroll · benefits · day off · overtime · room and board
Supervision of young ones
- eldercareSupport for the aged
- companionshipState of having company
- nurtureSupport growth and development
- supervisionOverseeing people or processes
tending · assistance · feeding · bathing · dressing · medication · mobility · respite
Statutes governing workplace conditions
- minimum wageLowest lawful hourly rate
- exploitationSelfish use of others
- traffickingIllegal transport for profit
- abuseCruel or violent treatment
advocacy · unionization · migrant · undocumented · visa · sponsorship · fair treatment · working hours
maid
Household cleaning worker
- housekeeperDomestic cleaning professional
- nannyHired child caretaker
- butlerChief domestic servant
cook · chauffeur · gardener · babysitter · au pair · valet · steward · laundress · groundskeeper · housemaid
sweeping
Extensive and far-reaching
vacuuming · polishing · laundry · ironing · tidying · sanitizing · disinfecting · washing · wiping · bedmaking
wages
Payment for work
part-time · agency · placement · references · payroll · benefits · day off · overtime · room and board · stipend
childcare
Supervision of young ones
- eldercareSupport for the aged
- companionshipState of having company
- nurtureSupport growth and development
supervision · tending · assistance · feeding · bathing · dressing · medication · mobility · respite · live-in
labor laws
Statutes governing workplace conditions
- minimum wageLowest lawful hourly rate
- exploitationSelfish use of others
- traffickingIllegal transport for profit
abuse · advocacy · unionization · migrant · undocumented · visa · sponsorship · fair treatment · working hours · rest days
- home lifehome, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, living room
- occupationsdoctor, teacher, baker, lawyer, nurse
- hourly jobsday laborer, factory hand, laborer, part-timer, temp
- household helpnanny, babysitter, housekeeper, maid, cleaner
- household staffmaid, butler, housekeeper, cook, nanny
- servantsbutler, maid, servant, servants, domestics
domestic workerfactory worker
Manufacturing floor employee
industrial worker · office worker · construction worker · white-collar worker · agricultural worker
domestic workerhomeowner
Property title holder
employer · householder · lady of the house · head of household · master
domestic workerassembly line worker
Employee at conveyor stations
sweatshop worker · machine operator · steelworker · autoworker
worker, domestic, domesticated, domesticate, domestically, domestication, domesticating, undomesticated, domestic workers