Endless And Uninteresting Drudgery

Northern Advocate, 11 July 1938, Page 6

Endless And Uninteresting Drudgery

[Special to “Northern Advocate.”] WELLINGTON, This Day. “Domestic work as practised in many homes in this country is little more than a round of endless and uninteresting drudgery,” declares the report, made public to-day. of the committee of inquiry into maternity services, set up by the Government early last year. The committee found the problem of domestic assistance to be a most important aspect of domestic service questions throughout New Zealand. Lack of adequate help in the home was a difficulty which affected all classes of the community, and in many cases acted, as a powerful deterrent to childbearing.

Plays Havoc With Health

Further, states the committee, the incessant round of domestic work and anxiety regarding household affairs plays havoc with the physical and mental health of many women. It would be difficult to praise too highly the efforts of certain women's organisations to deal with the problem, the committee 'adds. Lack of personnel, however, was a serious drawback. The committee suggests that domestic work should never be allowed to fall to the level of dull and monotonous routine. Employer’s Responsibility. “An attitude of sympathy and interest on the part of the employer will often gain the loyalty and co-operation of a worker where Indifference or intolerance will have the opposite effect,” states the committee. There

should be facilities also for a reasonable degree of privacy, and hours of work should be reasonable.