PAID DOMESTIC WORK AND MENTAL HEALTH: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

Paid domestic work is a historically marginalized occupation shaped by inequalities of gender,
race, and class, whose impacts extend beyond the economic sphere to affect the health of domestic
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workers. This study aimed to analyze the scientific literature on the relationship between paid
domestic work and mental health. A narrative literature review was conducted using the SciELO
and PePSIC databases, employing the descriptors mental health and domestic work combined with
the Boolean operators OR and AND. Articles published in Portuguese between 2020 and 2025
addressing the implications of paid domestic work for the health and lives of domestic workers
were included. Following the selection process, four studies comprised the final corpus of analysis.
The findings were organized into three thematic categories: (1) work precariousness and health;
(2) intersectionality and health; and (3) paid domestic work and mental health. The reviewed
studies consistently indicate that precarious working conditions, informality, unequal power
relations, and gender-, race-, and class-based inequalities are key factors in understanding the
suffering and illness experienced by this occupational group. However, the findings also reveal a
limited body of research specifically addressing the mental health of domestic workers, particularly
within the field of Psychology. It is concluded that understanding mental health in paid domestic
work requires considering working conditions in conjunction with the historical and structural
inequalities that shape this occupation. These findings highlight the need to expand research on
this topic and to support the development of policies and interventions aimed at promoting workers'
health and ensuring decent working conditions.