Care Work Deserves Respect – Including How We Treat Each Other

A look behind the scenes at Valeriana

Imagine this: One of our team members – we call her a Valeriana – walks into a client’s home. Friendly, motivated, and ready to do a great job. But before she can even take off her jacket, she hears a sharp voice: "There’s a spot over there, don’t forget it. And this time, vacuum properly." No greeting. No eye contact. No smile. Situations like this happen. People who clean, care, and bring order into spaces every day encounter not only gratitude in their work but sometimes also impatience or a lack of respect.

Care Work Is Society’s Work
Care work is so much more than cleaning. It is the invisible foundation that keeps our communities functioning. Without people who keep spaces clean, maintain structures, and make sure that others can live, work, learn, and stay healthy, our daily life would not function. And yet, care work is often underestimated. Many clients underestimate the time required and expect that in just two hours, the kitchen, bathroom, floors, windows, and dusting can all be “quickly taken care of.” 👉 That’s simply not possible – and it’s not respectful toward the work being done.

How Valeriana Supports
This is exactly where Valeriana comes in. We create fair and safe workplaces for women with a migration background who work in the care sector. To allow our team members to fully focus on their work, we set clear guidelines:

We define realistic timeframes.
We outline tasks clearly and transparently.
We protect our Valerianas from unreasonable working conditions. (We provide regular maintenance cleaning, not deep cleaning services.)

Our Valerianas follow a structured workflow from A to Z, which gives them stability and orientation. This structure is also a key part of our integration work: it helps women navigate their daily work, take responsibility, and act with confidence.

For example, when you book the cleaning service with Valeriana, we require that a basic set of equipment is available on site:

🧹 A working vacuum cleaner with fresh vacuum bags
🪣 A bucket
🧼 A mop with two microfiber attachments

Everything else – such as microfiber cloths for different areas and eco-friendly, gentle cleaning products – is of course provided by our Valerianas.
This is the only way our team can carry out their work properly and efficiently.

Respect Goes Both Ways
Of course, our Valerianas also experience many wonderful encounters: clients who welcome them with a smile, express their gratitude, offer a glass of water — and sometimes even a bar of chocolate. 🍫These moments last. But when clients try to cut the cleaning time, request extra tasks that were not agreed upon, are unfriendly, or devalue the work, our team feels it immediately. It’s in these moments that we see clearly how a society truly treats its care work.

Our Goal at Valeriana
We want care work to be visible, fairly paid, and respected. We want clients to understand how valuable this work is. And we want our Valerianas to work with pride, security, and support. Because in the end, this is about more than clean floors or shiny fixtures. 👉 It’s about respect, humanity, and meeting each other at eye level.

A Big Thank You to Our Loyal Clients💛
Finally, a heartfelt shout-out to all our wonderful, long-standing clients who have supported Valeriana with trust and respect over the years. 🙏 You are an important part of this movement. With your attitude, your patience, and your appreciation, you make a difference — day after day. Thank you for showing together with us how valuable care work truly is. 💛

🌿 Valeriana stands for a clear attitude towards care work — fair, structured, and heartfelt.

Social Impact Care Work Deserves Respect – Including How We Treat Each Other

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Hello, we are the Valeriana team.