MORE THAN 8 IN 10 DOMESTIC WORKER RESPONDENTS ARE CONCERNED ABOUT EXPOSURE TO MONKEYPOX AT WORK
The majority of respondents lack access to affordable healthcare
Domestic Workers and Monkeypox Concerns · September 2022
Source: La Alianza surveys, NDWA Labs
Released: September 8, 2022
Domestic workers are the nannies, homecare workers, and house cleaners whose work is essential to our economy, and yet they are one of the most vulnerable and marginalized groups of workers. Even before COVID-19, domestic workers earned less than the average US worker and were three times as likely to be living in poverty [1].
In 2020, NDWA Labs developed our La Alianza news chatbot into a groundbreaking research tool that surveys thousands of Spanish-speaking domestic workers every week, producing first-of-its-kind data for a workforce that is essential, but overlooked in mainstream economic analysis. As part of this ongoing research, we produce regular reports on Spanish-speaking domestic workers' economic situation and working conditions.
On August 26, 2022, we asked workers about their level of knowledge and concerns regarding the spread of monkeypox. This report provides our main findings.
Main Findings
“I need more information about the disease, its symptoms, protection, transmission and if there is any vaccine” - Cleaner respondent
The vast majority of respondents have heard about monkeypox, but many lack information about transmission mechanisms and how to mitigate the risk of contagion.2 96% of respondents said they had heard about monkeypox, but 19% said they had no information about how the disease is transmitted, and 25% told us they had no information about preventive measures to mitigate the risk of contagion.
57% of respondents reported having sufficient information about how monkeypox is transmitted, while 24% said they had some information.
55% of respondents said they had sufficient information about preventive measures to mitigate the risk of contagion, while 21% said they had some information.
"I'm worried if a client has that disease and we touch their clothes or personal items in order to clean and then get infected" - Cleaner respondent
More than 8 in 10 respondents said they were very/somewhat concerned about exposure to monkeypox at work. 85% of respondents reported being very (45%) or somewhat (40%) concerned about the risk of contracting monkeypox at work in the next three months.
This is higher than the 81% of respondents who, in the same survey, reported being very (44%) or somewhat (37%) concerned about the risk of contracting COVID-19 at work in the next three months.
"Getting sick I can't work, I need to be isolated and how am I going to earn for the car payments, food bills and for the doctor and the medicine? If I'm living day by day with what I work..there's a lot of reasons [to be worried]" - Cleaner respondent
3 in 10 respondents reported canceled jobs as their main concern about the spread of monkeypox. When asked what worried them most about the increased spread of monkeypox, 30% of workers said canceled jobs was their main concern, 63% said getting infected was their main concern, and 6% selected “Something else” as their response.
“I worry about getting infected in the workspace and not having medical attention and that I won't be able to go back to my work” - Nanny respondent
More than half of respondents lack access to affordable health care. 56% of respondents said they do NOT have access to affordable healthcare if necessary.
About the surveys
NDWA Labs surveys Spanish-speaking domestic workers each week, via La Alianza, a Messenger chatbot. At the end of each survey, La Alianza provides respondents with relevant news articles and resources in Spanish. To learn more about NDWA Labs’ La Alianza survey of Spanish-speaking domestic workers, see this report.
The numbers and figures presented in this report include data from one weekly survey which was sent on August 26, 2022. There were 487 workers who completed multiple choice questions within Messenger, and 52 who opted in to answer an additional open-ended question via a webform.
La Alianza is a product of NDWA Labs, the innovation partner of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. NDWA Labs experiments with the ways technology can organize domestic workers and transform domestic work jobs into good jobs by bringing respect, living wages, and benefits to an undervalued and vulnerable part of the economy.
For questions, please contact us here.
Notes
Economic Policy Institute (2019), Domestic Workers Chartbook
At the end of the survey, respondents received an article with information about monkeypox transmission, the particular risk for domestic workers, and preventive measures for respondents to reduce risk of transmission at work and beyond.