Migrant Live‐In Care Workers in the Global Care Chain: Results From an Online Survey

Silvia Wojczewski, Simona Ďurišová, Sabine Pleschberger, Anna Ernst, Rojin Bagheri, Kathryn Hoffmann and Viktoria Adler
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Silvia Wojczewski: Department of Primary Care Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
Simona Ďurišová: Initiative for Justice in Personal Care in Austria (IG24), Austria
Sabine Pleschberger: Department of Primary Care Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
Anna Ernst: Department for International Development, University of Vienna, Austria
Rojin Bagheri: University of Salzburg, Austria
Kathryn Hoffmann: Department of Primary Care Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
Viktoria Adler: Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Austria

Social Inclusion, 2026, vol. 14

Abstract: High‐income countries are using migrant care workers to address deficiencies in domestic care, thereby creating new care gaps in their countries of origin. Apart from this, care workers often face challenging working conditions in many countries. This article examines the job profile, needs, and training preferences of migrant live‐in care workers in Austria to inform improvements to their working and living conditions. As part of a transdisciplinary project, an online survey was co‐designed with live‐in care workers and CSOs working with care workers. The survey covered four languages (Slovak, Romanian, Bulgarian, and German). Themes included job profile, training requirements, problems encountered, well‐being, health, work breaks, and social contact in Austria. Descriptive analysis was applied using key figures, including mean values and frequency distributions. The results were interpreted by the project team. Two hundred and twenty‐five live‐in care workers completed the survey. The study found that live‐in carers perform numerous additional tasks, some of which make them feel uncomfortable. Some live‐in carers reported experiencing sexual harassment and physical violence, as well as a deterioration in their physical and mental health, since starting work as a live‐in carer. Participants expressed substantial interest in training opportunities, particularly those dealing with difficult situations in the household. There is great potential to improve conditions for live‐in care workers in Austria by providing services in their native languages. This would benefit both live‐in care workers and care recipients and their families. The expectations regarding what live‐in carers are and are not allowed to do should be communicated much more clearly to clients and their families. Furthermore, dependency on brokering agencies could be reduced by introducing a public health official responsible for administering live‐in arrangements as part of official home care in Austria.

Keywords: care crisis; communication; community care; family carers; home care; long‐term care; migration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cog:socinc:v14:y:2026:a:11728

DOI: 10.17645/si.11728

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