Anybody in any employment in Botswana was expected to engage somebody to help in the house. There was nothing extravagant about this; it was, in fact, a form of sharing: if you had a job, you had money, and money needed to be spread around. The people who helped in the house were often paid a pittance and expected to work long hours, but they were desperate for any job and were pleased to take on what came their way.
In Botswana, the expectation for anyone employed is to hire someone to assist with household tasks. This practice is seen not as indulgence but as a community-oriented approach to distributing wealth. Those who find employment are perceived as having a responsibility to share their financial resources, which fosters a system of mutual support within the community.
Despite the low pay and long hours typically associated with these domestic jobs, many individuals are willing to accept them due to their desperate need for work. For them, even a modest income represents an opportunity to provide for themselves and their families. This dynamic reflects both the challenges faced by workers in need and the societal norms that shape the expectations of employment in Botswana.
