The influence of job demands and job resources on the health of migrant domestic workers: a diary study with Ugandan housemaids in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Migrant domestic workers are mostly employed under precarious work conditions, yet little is known about the impact of their work on their health and wellbeing. Due to economic hardships and their low social status, the workers may endure such harsh conditions in exchange for a liveable wage. This study therefore utilized the Job Demands and Resources model’s health impairment process to explore this impact using a sample of Ugandan female migrant domestic workers in Saudi Arabia. Data were collected before leaving Uganda and through a biweekly diary method across four waves which lasted 8 weeks (Nparticipants = 172, Nobservations = 366). Results showed that family demands positively predicted emotional exhaustion and somatic complaints. Unexpectedly, work pressure, sexual harassment, and work precarity did not predict either outcome. Job autonomy negatively predicted both emotional exhaustion and somatic complaints, whereas social support had a positive effect on both emotional exhaustion and somatic complaints. Furthermore, core self-evaluation attenuated the negative relationship between job autonomy and emotional exhaustion. This study provides a foundation for further research on migrant domestic workers’ well-being, a unique group often employed under precarious working conditions.