It was Jean-Jacques Rousseau who said “When the people shall have nothing more to eat, they will eat the rich.” He was reflecting on the growing divide between the rich and the poor in his time. It was a divide so wide that it eventually led to resentment, unrest, and revolution.
This statement also adequately captures Africa’s domestic staffing landscape. Unless that this time, it is the poor against the middle class, in which both are victims of a larger system.
The average Nigerian middle-class family will at some point need to hire help, not as a luxury but as a necessity. With both parents actively working and building a family at the same time, the constant demands of home management makes additional hands almost unavoidable.
However, due to the informal nature of Africa’s domestic staffing industry, combined with a society where there is no respect reserved or given for jobs that are not considered dignified, it attracts the poorest in the society. These individuals are usually from rural areas and environments where education, stability and comfort are luxuries.
Even though middle-class people often don’t see themselves as rich, to the extremely poor, anyone who has stability, choice, or comfort looks rich. To someone whose income is less than $2/day, owning a car, living in a secure apartment, or having running water is also considered luxury. Also, the outlook of paying someone to clean your house or take care of your kids suggests that you have more than enough.
It doesn’t take too long after employment before the feeling of power imbalance starts to set in. They feel it in how they are spoken to, no matter how formal and respectful the employer is, in how their time is valued especially when they may be required to live-in which limits their interaction with the world, or how their pay is negotiated, which can feel exploitative, even when it falls within the generally accepted range.
They are intimately close to the lives of the middle class, yet they’re excluded from it. They wake up every day to gadgets, meals, holidays, and comforts without their inclusion in them, which may breed resentment if not managed well.
It is not the middle-class employer’s fault. You are just living your life, sometimes handling the pressure (debts, school fees, rent), but not showing it outwardly, but the only thing they see is the difference in lifestyle between you and them.
Greed, resentment and the inability to think outside of their immediate predicament lead these domestic staff to develop the urge to eat their perceived rich. Depending on how fast and deep their negative thoughts go, they end up stealing, blackmailing, kidnapping and even in very sad cases, kill their employers.
So, what is the solution to this?
1. Dignify the Work and the Worker
You can do this by:
Communicating respectfully
Referring to them by name, not just job title
Providing structure: regular breaks, meals, uniforms
Including them in basic home management conversations
Allowing time off for family emergencies, religious holidays, or birthdays
A little dignity can go a long way in changing how someone views their place in your home.
2. Pay Fairly and Transparently
If you can afford it, don’t just pay what others around you pay, instead pay according to the value you place on your home and its management. If your home, your peace of mind, and your children are important to you, then compensation should reflect that value.
Offer additional support if you can such as contributions to savings, health insurance, or education
Be transparent about how and when payments will be made
But the most effective solution is also the least discussed: Education.
Middle class families, especially those who work in the corporate sector may also wake up each day feeling exhausted from the daily demands of capitalism. There a constant demand from employers to earn every dime they take home at the end of the month. Perform or get terminated. Yet a large percentage of corporate employees do not end up employing questionable and criminal means such as stealing, blackmailing or killing to get ahead. They use other methods such as protests, organized unions or in extreme cases, the courts. When they think of earning higher, they consider other ways such as entrepreneurship (what we call a side hustle) rather than theft or upskilling rather than blackmail.
The difference between how the middle class relates with the rich and how the poor relate with the rich is in their education. Both formal and informal education have equipped them with tools to seek alternatives.
The poor aren’t just poor in resources but also poor in their minds. They lack exposure, perspective, and a sense of what’s possible. This is why even charity towards them may solve nothing.
Educating their minds through onboarding programs and continuous training will ensure that they are well informed on their role, the value it holds and the endless opportunities they can enjoy as they grow. This is how a seemingly meaningless job can turn into a lifetime career. A loyal and trustworthy staff can become a supervisor. A house help becomes a childcare expert. A cook becomes a nutrition consultant.
I submit that education is the most effective way to protect families from the eat-the-rich mentality held by many of these domestic staff.
So, while we pursue other areas that are equally important, like policies and standardization, individual families can start to incorporate structured learning that includes both professional and moral development from the start of their domestic staffing journey, including it in their hiring process, onboarding and management.
This situation isn’t your fault. You’re doing what you need to do to support your family. But sometimes, being innocent doesn’t protect you from becoming vulnerable. It is wise to recognize the imbalance and act thoughtfully, not fearfully.
Let us know what you think in the comments.