'n Empiriese ondersoek na probleme en stres wat swart vroulike huiswerkers ondervind

Abstract

AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION INTO THE PROBLEMS AND STRESS EXPERIENCED BY BLACK DOMESTIC WORKERS In the RSA, the course of history determined that black women have to earn their livelihood as domestic workers. Any family can be seen as a subsystem with a structural-functional coherence. The domestic worker's position in this subsystem can be analysed successfully on the basis of Talcott Parsons's AGIL paradigm, according to which any social system, such as the family, must comply with four functional prerequisites in order to satisfy the needs of the system. These functions are the adaptation function, the goal attainment function, the integration function and the latency function. In this family subsystem various stressors such as individual, family and job-related stressors may be encountered by the domestic worker. The reaction to stressors is influenced by stress mediation skills. The consequences of stress can be either positive, eliciting optimum productivity, or negative, causing distress, illness and eventually burn-out. The aim of this study was to investigate the typical problems and stress experienced by these women at work and at home and the relation between stress and the four functional prerequisites of the AGIL paradigm. The method included the use of a structured questionnaire and two validated stress tests, namely the Berocca Calcium Stress Index and the Pines tests. A random sample of 250 domestic workers in Potchefstroom was chosen and tested by means of an interview. The results indicated that more that half of the respondents were between 20 and 35 years of age, with an education level between standards 3 and 5. About a third resided in squatters' settlements and 84% had a total family income of less than R1 000 per month. Travelling to and from their work was time-consuming and expensive. Problems they encountered at home included too much work, too little time spent at home, worries about care of their children and little time for socialising. More than half of the respondents' stress levels fell in the "unhealthy stress" category. It was clear that most of the stress generating factors were overcome through effective adaptation. Specific goals such as higher compensation and education were not achieved. The integration function operated well, as illustrated by the close-knit integration of the domestic workers with their family and the community. Cultural diffusion contributed to the coping with stress, which emphasizes the importance of the latency function.