Disposal of garbage, door-to-door bathing assistance, and door-to-door cooking have become new flexible employment options
The door-to-door service track continues to expand. How to make the "new job" more stable?
Reading Tips
In recent years, a number of door-to-door services have emerged in many places, including garbage disposal, door-to-door bathing, door-to-door cooking, etc., becoming a new flexible employment option for migrant workers. Reporters interviewed found that most door-to-door workers have no fixed employer, lack labor contracts and social insurance, bear the risk of work-related accidents at their own risk, have unstable income, lack unified industry regulations, and unclear legal relationships. At present, the supply of relevant systems is accelerating, and practitioners are also actively seeking group development. Experts recommend further improving occupational injury protection.
"Community errand running is now online. Elders at home who have inconveniences, pregnant mothers who are tired from going out, or office workers who work overtime and have no time to pick up express delivery or throw away garbage can call me." Recently, in Jiaxing, Zhejiang, a post-95s girl posted information about door-to-door service orders through WeChat Moments.
In Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 21-year-old Xiao Zhou and his partner Xiao Kai carried an assembled bathtub weighing 15 kilograms up to the fifth floor of an old building without an elevator. After installing the bathtub, body assessment, full body bathing, changing clothes, and cleaning up after bathing, an hour and a half later, a disabled old man washed his body and relaxed his brows.
In recent years, a number of door-to-door services have emerged in many places, becoming a new option for flexible employment for migrant workers. When the "new job" is brought, how to make the "door-keepers" feel more at ease has become a new topic.
Busy "door-to-door" people on the new track
Tiao Feng had been in the wedding business for many years, and had also passed the examination as a medical attendant. During the treatment, she had seen too many elderly people who had "no one to throw away their garbage": their legs and feet were inconvenient, their children lived far away, and the garbage they had accumulated for several days could only be piled at the door. Finally, they asked for help from the community. This year, she saw the garbage disposal business on social platforms, so she roped in six friends to set up a door-to-door convenience life service company, and plunged into the new field of door-to-door services.
The service model of the tipping team is: 5 yuan for a single trip, 120 yuan for a monthly subscription, and 70 yuan for a half month; customers pack the garbage and leave it at the door, without the need to hand it over in person. They come to the door once every two days and take photos for confirmation after throwing away. Nearly a month after opening, the team received 3 monthly subscription orders.
Xiao Zhou, who graduated with a major in nursing, originally wanted to be a nurse, but when he was interning in a hospital, he saw a bedridden old man unable to take a bath all year round. He was deeply touched, so he and his classmate Xiao Kai pooled 10,000 yuan to purchase equipment and started a business in Hangzhou. Basically, door-to-door bathing assistance is 398 yuan/time, and additional services such as haircut and massage are 498 yuan.
"We can take up to 4 orders a day, and in a month there are almost 60 orders, with a turnover of about 20,000 yuan." Xiao Zhou told reporters that their team's customers are not only in Hangzhou, but also in Huzhou and Jiaxing. Aunt Jin, a family member of a customer, sent a long message to express her gratitude: My brother, who has been paralyzed for 8 years, showed a smile that he had not seen for a long time while taking a bath. "What is washed away is not only the dirt, but also the helplessness and haze accumulated by years of paralysis."
"The elderly care industry cannot think about making quick money. If you don't settle down, you won't be able to do it for a long time. Behind the market demand for bathing services and other services is the care and companionship that the elderly are missing," Xiao Zhou said.
Taking orders freely faces "identity embarrassment"
Behind the rise of various door-to-door services are the needs of different groups. However, it is not easy to serve the "new job".
In terms of employment form, most "door-to-door workers" do not have a fixed employer: some receive peer-to-peer orders through social platforms, some are affiliated with domestic service companies, and some work alone. Labor contracts and social insurance are a bit distant in the eyes of many practitioners. Xiao Zhou admitted to reporters that he has not signed a contract with any entity and basically bears the risks of work-related injuries and accidents on his own. "It is normal to climb stairs carrying 15 kilograms of equipment. There are risks if you are not careful."
Income stability is also in doubt. “One order is only 5 yuan, and the profit is so thin that we are not willing to deduct another premium.” Tiao Fei told reporters that currently the team mainly relies on recommendations from friends and acquaintances to receive orders. The reality of only 3 orders in the first month of opening is also faced - the customer price is low, repeat purchases rely on habit formation, and the promotion cost is not low. “We are discussing cooperation with the community, but there is no precedent for how to sign a cooperation agreement and how to divide responsibilities.”
Zhou Zi'ao, a post-2000s guy who cooks at home, has difficulties on the other side. "There is no basic salary, no five insurances and one housing fund, and all the costs are borne by myself." He calculated the accounts for reporters: groceries, transportation, and tool losses were all borne out of the single fee; when a customer broke an appointment at short notice, the trip was in vain; when he encountered picky eaters, the entire table was scolded for a long time, and he could only smile. "Right now, there are no unified standards in the industry. The safety of food ingredients and hygienic operations all depend on self-consciousness," Zhou Ziao said.
The lack of standards also makes it difficult to measure “craftsmanship”. The hygienic standards for door-to-door hair washing, the operating procedures for door-to-door bathing assistance, and the service boundaries for garbage disposal currently rely mostly on the self-discipline of practitioners. The professional identity and rights protection of "door-to-door workers" are both caught in the middle.
"Door-to-door service practitioners face two 'ambiguities'." The deputy dean of the School of Labor Economics of Capital University of Economics and Business analyzed the scope. First, it is not clear who to establish a relationship with, resulting in unclear objects of rights protection and relief; second, it is not clear what kind of legal relationship to establish specifically. "Labor laws are difficult to apply, and the protection of rights and interests such as labor remuneration, labor safety and health, and work-related injuries is naturally not smooth."
Let security come "to your doorstep" with service
"With the improvement of living standards, social needs are becoming more and more diversified. The elderly live alone and young people stay at home, which has given rise to emerging service needs, and new types of work have also emerged." Scope said that if new business types and new types of work are to be developed, supporting facilities need to keep up.
Institutional supply is accelerating. On October 8, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security publicly solicited opinions from the public on the "Measures for the Protection of Workers' Rights and Interests in New Employment Forms (Draft for Comment)". This is my country's first comprehensive document to protect the rights and interests of workers in new employment forms in the form of regulations, clarifying bottom-line requirements for labor remuneration, working hours, labor safety and health, and social insurance.
Previously, the pilot program of occupational injury protection for new employment forms covering areas such as instant delivery has been fully launched, achieving "every order must be insured and every person must be insured", and individuals do not need to pay. In July this year, nine departments including the Ministry of Commerce introduced 19 more measures to promote the high-quality development of the domestic service industry and support local governments in exploring ways to standardize and strengthen the protection of rights and interests such as rest time and privacy protection for people directly employed by households.
In response to the urgent needs and worries of door-to-door service practitioners, the scope suggests that for the most urgent work-related injury problem, we can learn from the occupational injury protection method for workers in new employment forms, and adopt a per-order insurance and payment model to provide basic protection for work-related injuries; door-to-door services involve occupational safety and health, and platforms and workers should be urged to comply with safety production regulations and the platform's safety production education and training should be strengthened; in terms of labor remuneration, the platform's minimum wage guarantee obligations should be clarified, and arbitrary fines should not be allowed.
Practitioners are also disrupting themselves. Tip's team plans to discuss cooperation with the community and focus its services on the elderly. In May of this year, Xiao Zhou and his partner took the initiative to join the home care studio and became the core bath assistants of the team. The team will accept orders, connect with customers, and bear operating costs, while they focus on door-to-door practical services. "After joining the team, I feel more secure." Xiao Zhou said.
Reporter Wang Jiajun
"Worker Daily" (October 16, 2026, Page 05)
