Ev İşçisi Kadınların İş-Yaşam Deneyimleri: Nitel Bir Çalışma

Abstract

This study aims to examine women domestic workers’ everyday work-life experiences, the psychosocial difficulties they encounter, and the psychological resilience resources and character strengths they draw on in coping with these difficulties, from a positive psychology perspective. The research is a qualitative study conducted with an interpretive phenomenological approach. The participants were 15 women domestic workers. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. Four main themes were identified: the work cycle, perceptions of pre-work and current life, risk factors, and protective factors. The findings showed that the women started working out of economic necessity, continued to carry care and household responsibilities after work, and faced physical strain, social stigma, unfair treatment by employers, and the risk of sexual harassment. Domestic work also provided economic autonomy, self-confidence, and an expanded social circle. Family support, spirituality, satisfaction from doing the job well, and individual coping strategies emerged as resilience resources. In terms of character strengths, patterns that can be associated with the virtues of courage, humanity, and transcendence were observed. The results indicate that the experiences of women domestic workers should be evaluated not only in terms of the difficulties they face but also in terms of their resources and strengths.