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. 2023 Mar 22;18(3):e0282744.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0282744. eCollection 2023.

Live-in migrant home care workers in Germany: Stressors and resilience factors

Milena Kriegsmann-Rabe  1 , Katja Maus  2 , Nina Hiebel  1 , Constantin Klein  3 , Franziska Geiser  1
Affiliations

Live-in migrant home care workers in Germany: Stressors and resilience factors

Milena Kriegsmann-Rabe et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: Thousands of Eastern Europeans find employment caring for older individuals as transmigrating live-in home care workers in private households in Germany. Studies have shown that the stressors threatening their well-being are multifaceted and include inequalities and a high practical and emotional workload, but research on protective factors is still scarce.

Aim & methods: This qualitative descriptive study focuses on both the stressors and factors that promote care workers' well-being and contribute to their psychological resilience. In guideline-based interviews, 14 female and one male care workers were asked about their stressors and the factors that help them cope.

Results: Identified stressors included separation from their own family, strained relationship with either or both the care recipient (dementia) and their relatives (violation of worker´s rights and devaluation of care work), and permanent availability and lack of free time due to a 24-h care schedule. Resilience factors were both external and internal and included positive social relationships, self-determination, experience in care work, and intrinsic job motivation.

Conclusion: Live-ins reside in an ambiguous setting, exposed to both structural and individual strains. However, external and internal resilience factors contribute to a generally positive attitude toward their job and indicate the agency of this precariously employed group. A socially anchored appreciation of their work and an officially controlled expansion of free time are mandatory to improve the working conditions of live-in care workers.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

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