In my daily job as a cleaning business owner, I come across this conversation a lot – clients who need help with cleaning or laundry services. They pay us for the work and will refer to us as “the maids.”

Have you ever researched the origin of the meaning “maid?” If you look it up at Merriam ­Webster, you’ll be redirected to “maidservant,” the definition of which is “a female servant.” If you’re paying the person who cleans your home, it means they are not a servant – they are an employee. Since we don’t call our kid’s school teachers servants, we believe that the people who help others by keeping their home clean deserve the same respect as those who watch or teach our kids.

Here’s something else to keep in mind: Often times our employees are so much more than just the people who clean your homes. We’re the ones who have an open ear for the elderly who live alone and look forward to seeing our staff every week; we help sick clients by doing some laundry for them because they are too weak to do it; and sometimes we let their pets out or move some heavy boxes in the garage. We do more than clean and we love what we do!