Publish at November 29 2023 Updated November 29 2023
It's the expectation of every worker, regardless of their profession, to be paid for the work they do. However, this is not always the case for the "small staff" working in schools, such as cooks and janitors, because their skills have been naturalized - as if anyone can do housework. As a result, the value of the work performed by these professions, which is nonetheless useful to society, is being devalued.
It was against this backdrop that Lucy Poquet wrote a Master's thesis in which she questioned the lack of recognition of home helpers - in concrete terms, home care workers, home employees and social auxiliaries - a thesis she titled as follows: "La reconnaissance professionnelle du métier d'aide à domicile".
The aim of this research is to understand the reasons behind the lack of recognition of the homecare profession, and to identify avenues of reflection that could help to provide an outline solution to the problem. The research question is: "To what extent can homecare workers experience professional recognition at a time when society is struggling to recognize their profession?"
To answer this question, the researcher presents a review of the literature, the theoretical framework, an analysis of the results, and some lines of inquiry.
From the outset, the researcher provides a panoramic view of the homecare profession, which is a growth sector due to the aging of the population. In addition, she reveals the arduous working conditions of these agents, who are sometimes required to perform handling tasks with the person being cared for and during household chores, on the one hand, and through an intense and dense schedule on the other, making it difficult to reconcile work and family life.
After an overview of the profession, we take a look at its origins. It emerged at the end of the 19th century, but became a fully-fledged profession in the 70s and 80s, thanks to the National Collective Agreement for Home Help and Maintenance Organizations (Convention Collective Nationale des Organismes d'Aide ou de Maintien à Domicile) of May 11, 1983. From that moment on, a debate arose around the status of this activity: "Les aides à domicile, métier ou profession?"
The researcher argues that it is indeed a profession, since it can be practiced without a diploma, and there is no established professional order. As the researcher points out, a trade is an activity requiring mastery of a technique or art, with the aim of providing a service.
Following this historical review, Lucy Poquet defines the key terms of her work: competence and professionalization on the one hand, and professional recognition on the other. She concludes that "competencies are the bedrock and result of a professionalization process that contributes not only to efficiency in the workplace, but also to the political and social recognition of a profession". As for professional recognition, it is a quest for confirmation of the abilities an individual expects from others. It contributes to the construction of an actor's identity, which is based on the expectation of moral retribution for the work accomplished.
After defining the words of her work, Lucy Poquet specifies the benefits of recognition, and the consequences of a lack of recognition. In the first case, recognition promotes employee loyalty, customer satisfaction and boosted self-esteem, among other things. Conversely, lack of recognition, which Honneth likens to denial and contempt, contributes to the invisibilization of the employee, who sees his or her professional identity withering away. This will lead to turnover, absenteeism, lack of cooperation with other players, etc. (Roche (2014). If all professions are useful, why does society give more credit to some than to others?
The lack of recognition of the homecare profession, even though it is recognized by public authorities as indispensable for people losing their autonomy in an aging society, can be explained by three factors in particular:
In order to carry out this work properly, the researcher calls on a methodological framework.
Lucy opts for a qualitative method and exploratory semi-directive interviews. The survey population comprises :
Following her investigation, the researcher identifies research findings and avenues for reflection.
Results and avenues for reflection
According to the results of her survey, the lack of recognition of homecare workers is due to :
With regard to the skills of homecare workers, we found that :
As for the recognition they receive, we note that :
As for possible ways of improving their working conditions, we note the following:
Illustration: alexraths - DepositPhotos
References
Poquet Lucy, 2022, "La reconnaissance professionnelle du métier d'aide à Domicile", Sciences de l'Homme et Société, online
https://dumas.ccsd.cnrs.fr/dumas-03850965
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