Many families in the developed world hire live-in caregivers to meet their childcare and elder care needs. Given the spatial arrangements – i.e., that the caregiver lives with her employer – relationships between employers and live-in caregivers can develop into family-like relationships. The purpose of this paper is to draw on data from two Canadian studies to examine the relationships between migrant live-in caregivers and their employers.
The first study focused on the live-in caregivers in Canada. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 Filipina nurses who migrated to Canada through the Live-in Caregiver Program. The second study was a pilot descriptive study that included interviews of recruiter groups and employers of live-in caregivers. Data were thematically analyzed, aided by NVivo software.
The studies indicate that some live-in caregivers prefer to be treated as one of the family, while others prefer to have a strictly professional employer/employee relationship. Their employers are similarly divided. The authors identify reciprocity and respect as important ingredients for healthy relationships between live-in caregivers and their employers. Without these key ingredients, relationships between employers and live-in caregivers can be exploitative, especially given the unequal power inherent in the relationship.
Further studies are needed to better understand how these relationships evolve over time and in space.
There is a need to create policies to further prevent exploitation of live-in caregivers within an unfavorable employee or familial relationship.
This study provides useful insight into the development of knowledge on relationships between live-in caregivers and employers.
